


Actions Are Louder

by FlorenceSnape



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Confusion, F/M, Happy Ending, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Shameless Smut, Talking To Dead People
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-06-11 18:33:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15321678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlorenceSnape/pseuds/FlorenceSnape
Summary: Ben's left her after a night of shameless passion, her Master's left her too and Luke is sending her away. There's nothing left for Sara but to find out why the man that asked her hand simply abandoned her to go play Sith Lord.





	1. Chapter One

**24 ABY**  

 **Yavin 4**  

 **Luke's Jedi Temple**  

 **Inside one of the** **many** **small cabins**  

 

A 19-year-old Ben Solo rose from a wooden chair, shoes on, all dressed up; he turned around and stopped before taking another step, his eyes fell on the young woman peacefully asleep on the bed. His fiance. The previous night had been amazing, they had made love (if he could call their nearly violent coupling that) and talked about their future. He felt like a liar as he smiled at all of the beautiful plans that left her rosy lips while they lay naked on the rumpled bed, her head on his chest, and the family ring he had put on her finger about a year ago sparkling as red as ever. She slept soundly now, unaware of his decision. All he had in mind at that moment was hope; hope that someday she might understand and forgive him for doing what he was about to do; hope that she wouldn't blame herself for his bad decisions and future wrongdoings. He knew he might never have her forgiveness, but he had to follow with his plan. 

He turned around and his eyes fell on their lightsabers, both sitting on the small bedside-table; their hilts so similar but he knew their core-colors were nothing alike – his was dark blue while hers was pure white. He took her lightsaber without thinking twice and attached it to his belt, he’d need it for what he had to do – and they could control each other's swords very well so he wouldn't find any problems on the future and neither would she. Then he finally approached the door and, after a long glance around the simple room and at the beautiful sleeping woman on the bed, he left. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sara woke up to an empty room. No sign of her boyfriend anywhere. She slowly stretched and sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes and feeling her muscles complain from all the activities of the previous night – a smile formed on her lips at the memory. She threw the dark green duvet away and jumped from the bed to get dressed, getting ready for another day at the Jedi Training Temple. She hoped that her days there were getting close to an end, she couldn't wait to move on with her life,  _And_ _marry Ben, o_ _f course_ _._ She thought happily. 

She sat on the only wooden chair in the room (the same chair Ben had sat before to put on his shoes) and put her shoes on. Next, she tied her long dark-brown curly hair up on a ponytail and was ready to leave for breakfast; all she had to do was grab her lightsaber, which she found on the bedside table and attached to her belt before she left her small cabin. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sara walked into the refectory, which was on the first floor of the Great Temple – a lofty pyramidal structure consisting of a number of successively receding stories and a high-ceilinged chamber at the top – that had been constructed over 5,000 years BBY by a group of Massassi, a warrior race who were once enslaved by the Sith. She passed by the younger Padawans' tables and went to the long table to grab herself a seallia sandwich and some caf. 

She sat on her usual table, with the older apprentices, and looked around trying to find Ben. But he wasn't there. Neither were their four great friends: Phil, Nate, Jon and Len. Finding that odd but thinking that maybe they had gone run some errands for Master Luke, she started to eat. 

She was halfway through her sandwich when Master Luke walked into the refectory, looking serious. He was about to seat you the younglings when he saw Sara and walked straight towards her. 

"Morning, Sara." He greeted her. 

She stood up and greeted him: "Morning, Master Luke."  

"Have you seen Ben this morning?" 

"No." She thought that question was weird. "I thought he was out doing something for you." 

"Well, he isn't." 

She stared silent at him, not knowing what to think much less what to say. 

"And what about your other Master?” asked Luke. “Does Master Kin know where Ben might be?"  

"I haven't seen Master Kin this morning either. He left my cabin last night..." She blushed and quickly looked down, feeling a little embarrassment. "...so that Ben and I could have some time alone. He hasn't showed up yet." 

"Well, if you learn anything about Ben's whereabouts, please let me know." 

"Sure, Master Luke." 

And Luke walked away from her table towards the younger Padawans. Sara sat back down and looked at her half-eaten sandwich, she had become too worried to continue eating. So she stood up and walked outside towards her and Ben's spot by the beautiful waterfall near the Temple, at the foot of the Yunteh Mountain. From afar she could hear the loud grunts of their stubborn, but playful runyip friend – who they had named Runi after finding out it was a she. And as Sara walked closer to the waterfall, she saw the runyip using her long, bifurcated trunk to grab vegetation by the water, her beautiful green fur looking clean as always. Runi raised her head in worry at hearing someone getting closer, but she relaxed and slightly shook her long, white spotty tail once she recognized Sara. 

“Hey, girl.” Sara greeted her, patting Runi's shoulder that stood taller than Sara’s. Then she looked around trying to find her boyfriend, unsuccessfully. “You haven’t seen Ben around, have you?” she asked Runi; but the runyip only squealed softly in response. “I’ll take that as a ‘no’.” So Sara walked to a rock by the water and sat on it, trying to think where he could have gone.  

After a while just listening to the sound of the waterfall, she decided to use the Force to track Ben. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes, clearing her mind, trying to find his energy. She easily found it – but it was coming from her belt. She took the lightsaber she had hooked there earlier and ignited it. It was dark-blue. Ben had taken her lightsaber instead of his own. 

"But for what reason?" She murmured to herself, in confusion. 

She turned off the sword and closed her eyes again, trying to find him, looking past the lightsaber's energy. 

And she found nothing. 

She tried harder, focusing all of her energy to find his Force-signature. 

Still nothing. 

There was only one possible explanation. 

"He is not on Yavin." she heard her Master Kin’s voice exteriorizing her thoughts. 

Sara opened her eyes, uncrossing her legs. "What do you mean he's not on Yavin? Where else would Ben be?" 

"I don't know; and it worries me. All I can say for sure is that he’s not here on this planet." he sounded serious. 

"But if he's not here that means he's left the Temple. He abandoned his training and he left... me." 

Master Kin looked at her with sympathy in his blue eyes.  

"We feared something like this could happen." He said slowly, as if he was telling her a secret that he had kept from her until now. "But we hoped that Ben wouldn't choose that path after he had met you." 

"What do you mean? Who's  _we_?" She asked, frowning. 

"Me and the other Jedi who have become one with the Force. We have some insights about the future from time to time. As you can imagine, it's a dangerous knowledge for we cannot meddle with it, we cannot change what we see. Well, at least not directly – but subtle changes have been necessary, and proven worthy, in the past." He paused. "That's why I went to you when you were a child; your powers became unbalanced after your parents’ death. And feelings are a strong thing, Sara, love being the strongest of them all. When we saw that your unbalanced state could have great impact in the future, the Council – as they like to be called – decided that you needed a Master. As no living Jedi Masters were available at the time you were eight, a dead one had to be enough." 

"And you were chosen for that task, I already know that last part. But why are you reminding me of that now? What does that have to do with Ben being gone?" 

"We've foreseen that there was a chance Ben Solo could become a Dark-Force user, by the hand of Snoke." 

"What? No! Not the Ben I know!" She was skeptical. 

"He has always had both Light and Dark inside of him, Sara. You've felt it, you know it." Insisted Master Kin. 

"Yes, but he’s always had both powers balanced. Never one stronger than the other." 

"And yet, now he's fled the Jedi Temple." 

"That doesn't mean he has gone sith!" Sara was furious at her dead Master. "How could you even think such a thing? You know him too, you were around when we skipped classes to train, you felt his powers!" 

"Yes. But, still, he is gone. And he didn’t tell you where he was going." 

Sara sat down on the rock again and let her head fall on her hands. She didn't know what to think. As infuriating as Master Kin' words were, he was right: Ben had left the Temple (and her) without ever saying a word about it. 

"We need to tell Luke about this." Master Kin said after a while. 

She silently nodded and got up, walking to Luke's office. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sara knocked on the door to Master Luke’s office and heard him telling her to enter. She walked into the room and closed the door. Master Kin appeared to her right. 

"Ben is not on Yavin anymore." She spoke unceremoniously. 

Master Luke stared at her, shocked at her words. "What are you saying? How do you know that? Where else could he be?" 

"We can't feel his energy on the planet..." She looked at Master Kin (whom Luke could see too). "And we are certain he's gone, although we don't know exactly where." 

Luke looked at her and at Master Kin, feeling there was more to that story. "Is there something else you two are not telling me?" 

"Ben took my lightsaber instead of his.” said Sara. “I don't know if it was by mistake or intentionally." 

"Wouldn't he have felt it was not his own once he took it?" Asked Master Luke. 

"Not really. We..." She hesitated, not knowing how to explain it to him. "We can perfectly work with each other's lightsabers; I only realized I had had his saber on my belt all morning because I tried to find him and tracked his energy to it." 

Luke stared at her, trying to decide what that information meant. 

"Also..." Said Master Kin, finally joining the conversation, "There has always been a chance that Ben Solo could become a Dark-Force user, by Snoke’s training."  

Luke stood up and looked at him, palpable anger building up, then he shouted: "And why haven't you done  _anything_ about it?  _Why_ haven't I heard about this before?" 

"Ben couldn't see him, how could Master Kin have done anything?" Sara jumped in defense of her dead Master, confused at Luke’s accusation. 

"He  _knows_ he could have done something!" Shouted Luke clearly meaning something she had no intel on. 

"Okay. So now there's something the two of you are not telling  _me_." she said looking at both men. 

"I  _did_ do something." Said Master Kin, as calmly as always. "I trained Sara, I helped her get here. She is an important part of Ben's future. When I saw him developing feelings for her, the Council tried looking into the future again but it had become hazy, so we thought it was simply being rewritten and what had been previously foreseen wouldn’t happen anymore." 

"Apparently, you were wrong." Accused Luke. “And he’s not the only one missing. Other four boys, Nate Iblis, Phil Bastra, Len Terrik and his cousin, Jon Horn, are nowhere to be found.” 

"They were all mine Ben’s friends.” exclaimed Sara. “What can we do now?" Sara asked. "I refuse to believe the Ben I know would want to become a Sith Lord. He asked me to marry him! We had plans. Peaceful plans. Family plans!" 

"That's what the Dark Side does, Sara." Interrupted Luke, his voice laced with bitterness. "It destroys families and dreams. And Ben has it in his blood; as I have it in mine." His hard eyes fell on Master Kin who seemed suddenly embarrassed. "There's nothing we can do about it." Finished Luke. 

Sara watched the two men's silent staring contest for a while and decided to leave the room – watching their piss-fight wouldn’t help her help Ben. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

"You haven't told her yet." Said Luke as Sara closed the door after she left. 

"No." 

"You won't be around her much longer. She doesn't need any of us anymore. And once the Council finds out she’s ready they will make you leave her side." 

"I know. They have already warned me." 

"Also, she deserves to hear the truth from you." Continued Luke. 

"I know all of that, son." 

Luke paused as he always did whenever the man called him  _son_. 

"She won't be too angry, I think." Luke said, after a while. "She'll understand. She loves you like a father." 

"Perhaps." 

"That's what you're afraid of, isn't it? To lose her love." 

Master Kin just stared at the window, silent. 

"I think the moment to let her go has arrived." Luke spoke softly. "We both must let her go. She'll be needed elsewhere now that Ben has joined Snoke. The Resistance will need her. Leia will need her." 

"I'll talk to her tonight." It was all Master Kin said before he disappeared. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sara tried to move on with her day as normally as possible. She trained with the older apprentices, helped the young Padawans after lunch and meditated in the late afternoon. But, once she walked into her small cabin after dinner, the reality of Ben no longer being there with her hit her hard. She closed the door and looked around the room, the flickering light of the fireplace making it feel comfortable; her eyes fell on her bed, still messy from their love-making in the previous night, and then she looked at the red Rol Stone ring on her finger. She felt betrayed and confused, tears started to roll down her face and all of her strength left her legs, so she leaned back against the door and slipped down onto the floor, crying. Memories of three years ago – of the day Ben had asked her to be his girlfriend, flooded her mind: 

 

 _FLASHBACK_  

 

 _They had skipped_ _yet_ _another duelling class to be by the waterfall, talking and just enjoying each other's company. They were both_ _lying_ _on the ground, about a foot away from each other, eyes closed._  

 _“You know." Said Ben. "I was thinking: we don't need to go to class but we could train anyway.” He looked at her. “You could teach me how to be a better sword fighter. You are great.”_  

 _“Yeah. I could." Agreed the fifteen-year-old Sara._  

 _Then she stood up and looked at the ground, trying to find some wooden pieces that could be used as swords. She found a long log and, with the Force, she broke it into two pieces and shaped_ _them_ _into swords. She reached one out in his direction and Ben took it_ _, getting_ _up from the ground_ _to begin their_ _lesson:_  

 _“Remember to_ _create_ _a firm base,_ _put your legs a bit apart and you’ll have more_ _strength_ _to hit your opponent." Said Sara. "Don't think of just_ _attacking and harming your enemy, you need to stay calm and pay attention to_ _their every move, otherwise you'll only get_ _y_ _ourself_ _killed._ _"_  

 _Ben nodded and_ _got in position, so_ _Sara_ _attacked_ _him._ _He was able to avoid her first blows but she got him on the side eventually and he fell on his knees._  

 _“Just killed you.” She said with a_ _smile, before_ _giving him_ _a_ _hand_ _to help_ _him_ _up_ _._  

 _Then_ _B_ _en_ _attacked her before_ _she could_ _get into_ _position._  

 _"Hey! That’s cheating!" She shouted while trying to protect herself._  

 _Although_ _Sara was_ _fast,_ _Ben had caught her out of guard so he_ _managed to disarm her_ _by the_ _fifth blow. But before he could deliver_ _the_ _final blow that would have deemed her "dead" she raised her hand in his direction and froze him_ _in_ _place._  

 _“I can’t... m_ _ove my l_ _egs!_ _” He put his sword down and stared at his legs, lookin_ _g_ _surprised._ _“You’ve_ _gotta_ _teach me how to do that!” he smiled_ _to her_ _._  

 _Sara laughed, still keeping him locked in place._  

 _“Admit defeat and_ _I'll_ _let you go.” She said getting close to him._  

 _“No way! This is not fair!" He motioned his still frozen legs. "You used the Force against me, and that wasn't the deal. This is a swordfight lesson!”_ _H_ _e couldn't stop himself from staring at her lips, noticing_ _the blush on her cheeks and_ _the sweat on her skin._  

 _“Okay. I’ll let you go._ _You_ _big baby!”_ _T_ _hen she released him and summoned her sword from the ground, attacking him quickly but he was fast enough to block her, their wooden weapons clash_ _ed_ _violently. Ben aimed a blow to her right shoulder but she threw herself on_ _to_ _the ground, hitting_ _the back of_ _his legs, making him fall on his back._  

 _Ben shouted in pain and surprise, feeling the air leave his lungs_ _for a second_ _._  

 _Sara kicked his sword away from his hand and sat on top of him, her sword on his neck._  

 _“And_ _I've_ _killed you again.” She said, smiling._  

 _They stared into each other’s eyes, both panting. Sara let her sword fall onto the ground and tried to get off of him, but Ben's hands held her forearms, stopping her. Then he moved his hands up towards her face, pulling her down to his chest, their lips so close now._  

 _“Ben.” She whispered._  

 _“Can I kiss you?”_ _H_ _e asked._  

 _“Why?” she asked without knowing why_ –  _after all, she had wanted him to kiss her_ _since last year_ _._  

 _“I like you. I like being with you and training with you. Whenever you’re around, I feel happier. I’d like to kiss you and see if there’s any way that this thing between us could get better.” He finished with a whisper, his lips only an inch from hers. Sara looked into his eyes for a minute before slightly nodding, allowing him to bring their lips together._  

 _It was a soft kiss at first, then he_ _caught her bottom lip between his teeth and she felt_ _her_ _whole_ _body_ _tremble_ _, wanting more. His tongue soon was touching her lips, asking for_ _entrance, and she let it in._ _The_ _feeling of_ _their tongues_ _touching for the_ _first time was inexplicable_ _; Sara felt her head_ _spin;_ _her legs went weak and she whimpered into his mouth._  

 _Ben rolled them over, lying on top of her, between her legs, loving the feeling of her smaller body under his hard one._  

 _“This can definitely get so much better. " He whispered, before kissing her again._  

 _Sara touched his broad shoulders, pulling him closer, loving having his heavy body on top of hers._ _Her hands entangled into_ _his hair as his lips left her mouth to focus on the sensitive skin of her jaw and neck. She sighed in pleasure, letting him touch her and touching him back._ _He kissed her_ _collarbone and rubbed his nose between her breasts over her shirt before returning to her lips_ _,_ _kissing her_ _with_ _passion._  

 _“_ _Will you be my girlfriend?"_ _H_ _e_ _whispered_ _between_ _wet kisses._  

 _“Yes.” She replied with a smile_ _._  

 _Then he stared into her beautiful blue eyes – heavy with desire, as were his,_ –  _and he looked at her moist lips – swollen and red for so many kisses_ –  _, her hair was messy and filled with leaves and small pebbles._  

 _“You look...edible.” He finally said._  

 _Sara laughed in delight at his choice of words._  

 _“I could lick you all over.” He continued, not letting her laughter stop him from telling her how he felt._ _His_ _words made her stop laughing, desire burning hot in her eyes. “I’d like to lick you, and bite you... Taste even your blood in my mouth.”_  

 _Then Sara bit his bottom lip,_ _playfully, but hard enough to_ _draw blood. Ben took that as an invitation and bit her lips as well, tasting the metallic taste of their bloods mixing in their mouths. He felt his desire for her increase, the certainty that he had found something special in her taking over his body, one of his hands roamed her body, touching her thighs, while the other found her hair at the back of her neck and pulled at it, exposing her neck to his kisses._  

 _Sara moaned_ _when_ _he pulled her_ _hair_ _._  

 _“Oh, you like that.” he whispered hoarsely, “You’re driving me crazy, pet.” He took her lips again before_ _suddenly_ _rolling out from between her legs. “We’d better stop.”_ _He lay on his back,_ _panting._  

 _“I agree.” She replied_ _._ _Then she looked at him, remembering something:_ _“Hey, y_ _ou called me ‘pet’.”_  

 _“Yes. I think I did._ _Didn’t you like it? It was totally impulsive, I...”_  

 _“I liked it. But let’s_ _keep it between us. No nicknames in public.”_  

 _“I agree.”_ _He replied, taking her hand to his mouth and kissing_ _it._  

 _Suddenly a male voice spoke inside Sara's head: "You_ _’d better_ _get going before you miss dinner." And she sat up quickly, startling Ben._  

 _“What happened?” he asked._  

 _“Master Kin_ _just...” She was blushing. “He was here to remind us to move or we’ll miss dinner.”_  

 _“_ _So,_ _let’s go.” Said Ben,_ _standing up_ _and helping Sara to her feet too._ _He started to remove dirt and leaves from her hair. “W_ _e can’t show up and the refectory looking like this, it’s obvious what we have been doing.”_  

 _“Let's go clean up and we’ll meet again_ _in_ _the refectory’s doors, what do you think?” She said._  

 _“Fine by me.”_  

 _And they walked towards the cabins, each going to their own_ _after a kiss._  

 

END OF FLASHBACK 

 

* * *

 

 

Crying onto her pillow was how Master Kin found her. 

"Sara." He called her. 

"Why, Master Kin? Why would he leave?" She sat up and asked him, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "You really don’t know?" 

"No. I told you the truth, dear. We thought he wouldn’t turn Dark anymore after..." 

"I don't want to know what the others thought!" She interrupted him. "I want to know what  _you_ think! You knew him. Why do you think he left? Was there any reason that I cannot see?" 

"No, dear, don't you dare think he left because of something you did. No! You didn't do anything wrong. He chose to leave." Master Kin stopped close to her. 

"But I can't understand. All our plans... we talked about them last night, less than 24 hours ago!" She stared at the fire in the fireplace, as if looking for answers in them. "What could he be hiding from me?" 

Master Kin waited a couple of minutes until she looked at him. 

"I don’t know about Ben. But... I have something to tell you." He said softly. 

"Oh, no." She quickly understood: "You're leaving me too, aren't you?" She asked, sadness filling her voice. 

Master Kin nodded. 

"This must be some sort of  _Let's-all-abandon-Sara-Day_ that I was not aware of."  

"Not really." He chuckled. "The Council has wanted me to leave you for at least four months now. But I didn't want to go. So, I lied to them." 

"You lied to the other Jedi Masters? Isn't that against the Jedi Code or something?"  

"Yes. It is. But, as you are about to find out, I've never really cared much about the Jedi Code when I was alive, they couldn't expect me to begin just because I died and they accepted me into their little club." 

"Were you a Rebel Jedi, Master Kin?" She asked in an attempt to make a joke. 

"No. I was a Sith Lord." 

Sara lost her weak smile and stared at him, trying to see if he was the one joking. 

"You're serious?" She asked. 

"Yes. My real name is Anakin Skywalker." 

Sara moved her mouth but no sound came off for a while. Then she found her voice again and asked: "What? You are... you were...?" 

"Yes." 

Sara just looked at the man in front of her – the man she had known since she was eight years old, the man who she thought, at first, was an imaginary friend that her mind had created to help her cope with the death of her parents. He was – or had been – Darth Vader. She had been trained – and nurtured – by the Ultimate Sith Lord of all times and she had never suspected. 

“Why?” it was all she could think of asking. 

“You needed to learn to trust a Dark Force user. You had to become the Gray Jedi you had the potential to be. Otherwise the future of the Galaxy wouldn’t have hope.” 

She just looked at him. 

So he continued: “As I've told you many times: your fate – or at least a part of it, has already been written. The unwritten part can still be changed and, depending on your choices, there will or won't be balance in the Galaxy.” 

“It's because of Ben, isn’t it?” she whispered. “The reason I had to learn to trust a Dark Force user; and why I had to become a Gray Jedi.” 

“Yes.” 

“Wouldn't it have been easier to simply stop him from leaving the Temple?” 

“We can't interfere directly with destiny, Sara. We can only help make it better. You and he were always fated to be together, but the unpredicted murder of your parents interfered with your balance. The Darker side of your powers – a darkness all living beings have inside of them – threatened to unbalance the Lighter side of them. That's why I was chosen to help you, to guide you.” 

“Why didn't you help Ben? He’s your grandson!” she suddenly realized that. 

“Because we all thought, correctly, that his fate was already written up to him joining Snoke. We weren't aware of the reasons that would take him to make such a decision. And when we saw his love for you and that his future had become hazy, we believed it had changed. But now I think just the reason of his joining may have changed, but the result ended up being the same." 

"His reasons may have changed, you say. But that's what I don’t understand: he had no reason to do that. Ben is not a liar, he wasn’t tricking me... he can't have been fooling me for the past three years!" 

"All we know, Sara, is that his future is not written from now on. And neither is yours. That's why you have a great part to play to make sure the Force finds its balance again...” 

"But what can I do?" 

"Luke will declare you ready to leave the Temple tomorrow." 

"What? So, Ben’s left me, you're leaving me, and tomorrow Luke's sending me away? What am I supposed to do? Where will I go?" 

"You'll join the Resistance." 

"What? I've never had any interest on joining any sides of the war!" 

"But now you must. Ben joined Snoke. The only way to find out why he did that – because you say you believe he must have had a reason to do so – is joining the Resistance." 

"How will I do that? I don’t know anyone in the Resistance, how will they believe I am not a spy or..." She sounded lost. 

"Luke will send word for Leia. She'll come here to talk to him about Ben and to pick you up." 

"Oh, yes, now I'll really calm down! That woman was going to be my mother-in-law and now I'm supposed to join her to fight  _against_ her son – who was going to be my husband until last night!" She was hyperventilating. "I don't want to do any of that... I want to go back in time and make Ben stay... I don't want you to go... I don’t want to leave the Temple... I..." 

"Dear." Master Kin knelt in front of her and held her hands, trying to calm her down. "You're strong enough to handle all of this. And if there's a reason for Ben's actions, you won't need to fight against him, you'll need to save him instead." 

"Do you think that the Dark-Force user, Snoke, forced him to leave?" 

"It's a possibility. But Ben's feelings for you are real. We saw it in the fabric of destiny. You can use that to help him defeat Snoke." 

"So, you want me to use my love for him as a weapon?” 

“Love  _is_ a weapon, Sara." He said, trying to make her understand. "It's the strongest weapon in existence. Do you remember your history lessons? When Luke explained why I became Vader?” 

“Yes.” 

“And why was it?” 

“You foresaw your wife's death and wanted to stop it.” She spoke softly. 

“But she died anyway. And her death drove me crazy with grief.” 

“Yes, but Luke saved you.” 

“Right. But not before I killed half the galaxy.” 

Sara looked at him. Still trying to absorb that her dear Master Kin had been a Sith Lord when alive.  

“Are you mad at me?” he asked. 

“No. I think I should be but..." She looked up at him. " _I_ _know_ _you_. You've been by my side for 10 years. Whoever the man that created Darth Vader was, you're not him anymore.” 

“Thank you, Sara.” a tear left his right eye and he stood up. "I must go now." 

"Thank you. For everything." She got up as well. "I know I wouldn’t have survived without you." 

"You would have survived, but you don’t want to know what kind of life it would've been." 

"How bad would it be?" 

"As dark as mine." 

Sara grimaced and smiled. 

Anakin focused his energy to become corporeal enough to hug her, then he slowly disappeared, leaving Sara alone in her small cabin. 

 

 


	2. Chapter Two

After Master Kin disappeared, Sara decided to focus on the practical things she had to do: she looked around the room and she started to make the bed  _–_ she had to change the sheets for sleeping on a mattress with Ben's scent on it wouldn't be wise. She grabbed clean sheets from a small cabinet and threw the green duvet onto the floor. But as she leaned on the bed to pull the sheets off, she couldn’t stop herself from smelling them  _–_ and they smelled like Ben. The tears started to flow again. She stopped trying to get the sheets off and sat down on the bed, her eyes being captured by the red ring on her finger, she touched it lovingly, remembering how happy she felt the day he put that on her finger, one year ago. It happened right there, on that bed.

 

* * *

 

_FLASHBACK_

 

_Only the light from the fireplace lit up the small room. On the bed, a young couple lay naked together after making love_ _, caressing_ _each_ _other’s_ _bodies_ _, just_ _enjoying_ _the_ _feel of their skins touching_ _._ _But the silence was suddenly cut when Ben said: “I brought you something!” and_ _he_ _pulled_ _out_ _a ring_ _–_ _no box, just the ring_ _–_ _from his pants that lay crumpled on the floor by the bed. “Will you marry me?” he asked, unceremoniously. Sara looked at his messy hair and the stupid smile he had on his face as he held the ring in her direction and laughed, replying: “Yes!” t_ _hen he put the ring on her finger, kissing it afterwards._

 

_END OF FLASHBACK_

 

* * *

 

Sara looked from the bed to the fireplace and let her eyes travel around the room; there were so many memories in that cabin, the countless nights they had spent there together, talking and making love. Their first time making love had been on that same bed too, about two years ago.

 

* * *

 

_FLASHBACK_

 

_21_ _ABY_

_Their duelling sessions had become more violent, they clashed and used the Force to block and attack_ _each other_ _. Both were very skilled_ _,_ _so each round could last longer than 30 minutes._

_Ben managed to defeat Sara – a rare occurrence – and she lay down on the ground, d_ _efeated, d_ _irty and sweaty, but smiling – she was always happy whenever he_ _beat_ _her,_ _for_ _that meant he was improving. He_ _sat by her side and_ _watched her breasts move up and down with each breath she took. She was beautiful and clever, strong and sexy. He had spent many sleepless nights just imaging her under him, how deliciously loud she would be, how good it would feel to sink into her and hear her moaning as he pounded into her._

_“Ben.” She called him, her eyes closed. “I can feel what you’re feeling._ _.._ _”_

_“Yeah. And what am I feeling?” he asked_ _lying_ _down beside her._

_She opened her eyes to look at him._

_“Desire.” She whispered_ _, touching his face_ _. “And I feel the same.”_ _her thumb on his full lips._

_Ben quickly_ _put himself on top of her, between her legs, resting his weight on his forearms; he nibbled on her bottom lip, making her sigh._

_“You make such a delicious picture, lying down on the ground, all sweaty...” he licked her lips. “Just defeated....” he kissed her passionately, one hand on her thighs. “I can't stop imagining you coming apart under me_ _..._ _”Sara_ _pulled him harder on top of her, she wanted him. His lips left hers to torture her neck, she couldn't stop the soft moan that left her mouth._

_“_ _Don_ _'_ _t_ _do that, pet.”_

_“I can't stop it. To feel your weight on me, your kisses and touches..._ _it makes me lose control._ _”_

_He took a deep breath and rubbed his body against hers_ _, m_ _aking her moan again._

_“I keep imaging...” she whispered. “How_ _good_ _will I feel when you....”_

_He kissed her lips_ _violently_ _, stopping her words. He didn't think he could survive hearing her say that she dreamed of them making love._

_“You're killing me, pet.” He said hoarsely against her neck_ _, slowly rubbing his body on hers_ _._

_Sara raised a hand and opened_ _the first_ _two buttons of her shirt. Ben didn't lose a_ _ny_ _minute, he kissed the exposed skin, noticing the_ _sexy_ _white laced_ _brassiere_ _she wore_ _;_ _the smell of her sweat was stronger between her breasts, and he loved it._

_“_ _Be_ _n_ _, come to my cabin tonight.” She whispered._

_He_ _raised_ _his head from between her breasts to_ _look at her._

_“Are you sure?”_

_“Yes. Absolutely." She looked into his eyes_ _, touching his face_ _. “I love you and I want you. So bad.”_

_He kissed her_ _passionately_ _._

_“I love you too.” He whispered over her lips. “And I’ve wanted you since the first time we kissed._ _So_ _if you’re certain, I’ll be there after c_ _ur_ _few.”_

_And_ _so_ _he did. He knocked on her door later that night. Sara, dressed in a rosé silk robe, quickly opened and pulled him inside, she didn't want to wait another minute. He took her lips passionately and they fell onto her bed. Then he opened up her robe._

_“Sara.” He exhaled._

_She was completely naked under it. He sat back on his ankles and stared at her_ _: the long brown hair all over the pillow,_ _her firm perfect breasts, taut darker nipples, her flat belly, the trimmed patch of hair between her thighs; all over her curvy body her skin_ _looked creamy, making him want to lick all of her curves_ _._

_“_ _You_ _'_ _re_ _making me_ _b_ _l_ _ush_ _,_ _Be_ _n_ _.”_

_“You're gorgeous, pet.” He whispered, touching her_ _hips, moving up to her_ _belly, to her breasts,_ _feeling the warmth and softness of her skin_ _. “You're like a feast, and I don't know where to start devouring you.” He kissed her bellybutton and trailed kisses up_ _, licking_ _her right nipple tentatively,_ _hearing_ _her gasp. So, he repeated and did the same to the left one._

_“Take off your clothes.”_ _she breathlessly said._

_He obeyed, quickly removing his long-sleeved shirt,_ _pants_ _and underwear._ _And she threw her robe on the floor._

_He felt_ _self_ _-_ _co_ _nsciou_ _s_ _as she stared at his hard dick and naked body._

_“Like what you see?”_ _he asked._

_“Absolutely.” And she pulled him on top of her_ _._ _The feeling of their bodies touching made them both gasp. Ben rubbed their bodies together and his_ _dick_ _touched her_ _wet_ _entrance._

_“Ben.” Sara whispered. “I have to admit that I_ _played with_ _myself a little as I waited for you to arrive.”_

_“Really?” he liked the thought that her desire for him was so_ _big_ _that she couldn’t wait for him to arrive, she had to pleasure herself somehow. “Tell me what you did. What do you like?”_

_“I_ _don’t_ _really know._ _I_ _'_ _ve_ _never...”_

_“I know. Neither have I. But you’ve pleasured yourself. What do you like?”_ _he insisted, feeling_ _the_ _need to_ _know._

_“I like having my nipple_ _s_ _lightly bitten_ _and pinched hard_ _.”_

_Ben took one of her nipples between his teeth and bit it._

_“Yes.” She gasped. “Like_ _that_ _.”_

_“What else?”_

_“_ _Whenever I touch myself, I w_ _onder what it’s like to be kissed... Between my legs.” She blushed as she spoke._

_“It’s so good to hear you say that_ _, pet_ _. I’ve always wanted to lick you all over...” then he_ _trailed kisses down her belly and_ _positioned his head between her legs, his face close to her entrance, then he observed her nether lips. “_ _You_ _look swollen and wet.” She guided his fingers to her entrance. “You’re definitely wet.”_ _H_ _e sniffed her. “And you smell sweet.” Then he swiped his tongue in her cleft. Sara arched and moaned. “You taste good, clean.” He groaned and opened her up with his fingers to taste her again. And again. Driving her mad with pleasure. He could feel her getting wetter and her moans increased. But the wetter she got, the more he wanted to eat her up._

_“Ben, I need more.” She_ _cried out_ _._

_“I could eat your pussy all night long_ _, pet_ _.” He admitted as he put himself_ _over her body,_ _between her legs, positioning his hard member over her dripping entrance. He rubbed it between her drenched lips and began to penetrate her, slowly._

_“This is so good.” he_ _groaned_ _, feeling the pressure on his dick, the slickness and the heat from her channel._

_“You’re hurti_ _ng me a little.” She_ _gasped_ _in pain a_ _s he broke the thin skin of her virginity._

_“It’s ok. I think it’ll get better soon.” he stopped, fully seated inside of her. “How do you feel?”_ _H_ _e was breathing laboriously._

_“Full and... a_ _little pain. And_ _you_ _?”_

_“You’re delicious, pet, all I want is to pound into you. My dick is in heaven, I may never leave your body again.” He slowly moved his hips and she gasped. “Did I hurt you?”_ _he worried._

_“No. It was good._ _Move_ _again.”_

_He obeyed and she_ _arched her back,_ _gasping_ _._

_“Look at you..._ _So_ _fucking sexy. So delicious._ _"_ _H_ _e_ _moved his hips again and she began to moan. “I_ _won_ _'_ _t_ _be able to_ _last_ _long, pet.”_

_“Make me cum,_ _Be_ _n_ _, with your dick deep inside of me.”_

_And he felt his body shiver in desire_ _. M_ _oving_ _his hips_ _in_ _the way that elicited more gasps and moans from her lips_ _, he_ _thrust_ _deep into her, trying to think of_ _anything_ _but the woman under him, moaning at the end of this dick – for he was certain he would cum any moment_ _._

_Soon Sara was trembling, coming apart under him. And_ _the pressure on his dick increased, it felt like her pussy was sucking him deeper and_ _Ben_ _lost control of his body, he_ _pounded into her, feeling every jet of come that left his dick._

_“No wonder people get obsessed with sex.” he gasped_ _, his head between her breasts_ _. “I don't want to leave your body... Ever.”_

_“Then_ _don’t_ _.” Sara said, encircling his waist with her legs,_ _pulling_ _him deeper inside of_ _her_ _. “I want more of you.”_

_He groaned and resumed moving his hips,_ _deep and slowly,_ _making her gasp._

_“_ _Harder_ _." she asked and he delivered, eliciting a long moan from her lips. “More, give me, Ben...”_

_And he took a fistful of her hair on the back of her neck,_ _pulling at it_ _as he knew she_ _liked, and_ _kissed her as he moved deep and hard into her. He bit her nipples next, making her scream in pleasure._

_“That’s it, pet.” He groaned. “You’re so fucking delicious.” And he_ _thrust_ _into her with abandon, hitting deep, learning how to make her lose control; he wanted to become a pro at that for seeing her_ _crying out in pleasure_ _because of him was something he’d never get enough of. Sara was beautiful, but he could say without a doubt that having her lost in pleasure under his body was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen._

_“You’re killing me, Ben.” she moaned as he tortured her nipples and fucked her pussy hard._ _“Give me... More.” she needed something but she didn’t know what exactly._

_Then he held her hands above her head, immobilizing them there with the Force, leaving her completely at his mercy._ _Next, he held her thighs wide open for his pleasure,_ _watching_ _as his painfully hard dick_ _fucked_ _her swollen pussy._

_And as their climaxes approached once again they both felt a deeper connection: their powers were mingling, balancing one another; and the moment Sara felt his inner Darkness touch her mind she felt wild, it was a freeing feeling that took over her body and she came undone under Ben’s strong body, feeling his hands holding her hips; meanwhile he felt powerful as her Light entered his mind, he tightened his grip on her hips, keeping her still for his thrusts and he fucked her like crazy, feeling her orgasm take over her mind and her channel close around his member, making her tighter, too delicious for him to keep going. He felt every jet of cum that left his dick as a small orgasm and fell on top of her, too tired to move. Sara didn’t seem to mind his weight. He raised his head to kiss her lips, and they fell asleep mid-kiss, both exhausted._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

 

* * *

 

Sara woke up startled and quickly sat up on the unmade bed, the clean sheets still in her hands. She blinked and looked around; the fire no longer burned in the fireplace and through the window she could see the sun was already up  _–_ she had fallen asleep lost in memories of her and Ben. She yawned and threw the clean sheets on the messy bed, giving up making the bed, there was no reason now that she was going to leave the Temple. She got up to begin organizing her personal things. If Master Luke was sending her away she needed to be ready.

About forty minutes later, she had her things nearly all ready to go, she didn’t have many possessions after all. Then she heard knocks on the door.

"Come in." 

And Master Luke walked into her cabin. He took one look at her packed bag and concluded: "I see your Master Kin told you that I intend to declare you a fully trained Jedi today."

"Yes." She turned around to look at her Master. "And he told me who he truly was. His real name. You already knew, didn’t you?"

“Yes. Even if he had never shown himself to me, I’d have recognized his energy around you.” Luke scrutinized her face trying to see how she felt about that, but she was too good at hiding her emotions for him to detect anything. "Are you mad at him?"

"Surprisingly, no.” she exhaled. “I know who was the man that has raised me since I was eight  _–_ and he is no Vader."

"He's already left?" Asked Luke, looking around.

"Yes. We said goodbye last night." She paused and continued: "Will I ever see him again?"

"Probably, yes."

She smiled softly and tied up her bag, closing it.

"My sister Leia is on the way here as we speak. I'll have to tell her that Ben's gone. And..."

"And you'll ask her to take me to the Resistance.” interrupted Sara. “Master Kin told me that as well."

"And are you ok with it?"

"At first I wasn’t. But none of my previous plans can possibly be fulfilled now that Ben's gone Dark, so I want to find out why he did that and, if possible, save him."

"Ok. I'd like you to come with me. We'll wait on my sister together and we'll talk to her."

"There's one more thing." Sara said as they were leaving her cabin. "I don’t want Leia to know who my other Master was. At least not for now. I want to let her know me first and then I'll tell her myself."

"And about your relationship with Ben? She'll recognize the ring, it is a family jewellery."

"I know. That’s why I hid it." She showed him her fingerless hand and pulled a chain from inside her blouse  _–_ the Rol Stone engagement ring was hanging from it.

Luke nodded and they walked to the Great Temple.

* * *

Luke walked into his office and Sara followed him, closing the door afterwards and sitting on the chair in front of his desk as he sat on the bigger one on the other side of it.

"You'll stay in the room once Leia arrives." Said Luke. "Remember your training: you must hear and not say anything while I'm talking with her, as if you were my advisor."

"Yes, Master."

"Once the whole talk about Ben is over, I'll introduce you to her and ask her to accept you into the Resistance."

"Yes. I understand."

"I do hope you understand I'm not simply sending you away, Sara."

"I know. I thought so at first, but Master Kin made me see that I must join the Resistance if I want to find a way to help Ben."

"Or defeat him, if necessary." Complemented Luke.

"Yes." It was all she said.

Then knocks on the door let them know that their talk was over.

"It's Leia." Said Luke, getting up and going to the door.

Sara got up and moved to stand on the right side of Luke’s chair, just listening and waiting as she had been taught. The door opened and a small and pretty woman walked into the room, dressed in what looked like a uniform. Sara had seen pictures of her before, Ben had shown them to her, but Leia Organa looked much more imposing in person than in the pictures, despite her short stature.

"Morning Luke." Leia greeted her brother and they briefly hugged. Her eyes found Sara and she stared questionably at him.

"That's Sara Antilles, my first fully trained Jedi, she’s here as my advisor."

"That's impressive. Congratulations, dear."

Sara just smiled and nodded.

"She'll join us in our conversation later." Explained Luke. "Now, please, sit down. I fear I called you here to hear some bad news."

Leia sat and looked at her brother. "I know something has happened. I couldn't feel Ben's presence on Yavin until I walked into your office. What did he do now?"

"He took four students and left." said Luke, unceremoniously, as he sat on his chair.

"What?" Leia was shocked.

"Yesterday morning he disappeared. No one could find him. So we tried to reach him through the Force and concluded that he’s left Yavin."

"But why? And where would he go?" 

"I have some confidential source that told me he might have gone to Snoke."

Leia silently stared at her brother for a while and then lowered her head onto her hands, sadness filling the room. Sara tried hard not to let her own despair join Leia's.

"Why would he do that?" Leia whispered, after a moment. "He had plans... there was a girl." She suddenly remembered, raising her head and looking at her brother: "I am sure there was... maybe he ran off with her, for he knows about the old Jedi rules that forbid love and marriage and I know he had plans to propose to her 'cause he took the ring  _–_ the Rol Stone ring, Luke. Do you know who she is? Couldn't he have eloped with her?" Leia looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Luke slowly turned his head towards Sara and subtly asked her to approach the desk. She walked closer to Leia and pulled the ring from inside her blouse, showing it to her ex-future mother-in-law.

"I know, with certainty, he hasn't eloped with his fiancé." Sara said.

And Leia stared at her for a few seconds, a mixture of shock and amusement in her face, before she stood up and hugged Sara.

"Why did he leave?" Leia asked her after the hug.

"I wish I knew. That's what I want to find out." Said Sara.

"Sara has decided to leave Yavin with you, Leia. She wants to join the Resistance." Said Luke.

"I want to find out why Ben left. As you said: we had plans. I can't accept he just left me and all of our dreams behind to become a Sith Lord. Also, he took my lightsaber with him and left me his. That's why you felt his energy when you stepped into Master Luke's office."

"That sure is strange." Then she looked at her brother. "Do you think he might have been influenced by our father's spirit?"

Luke quickly glanced at Sara, whose eyes had hardened after Leia’s words.

"No.” he answered, clearly annoyed. “Our father was redeemed in the end, I told you that a thousand times. He joined the Force, he wouldn't have become one with the Force had his soul been completely dark."

"I know. I know." Murmured Leia. "But there's got to be a reason, like you said, dear." She looked at Sara again and at the red ring hanging from her necklace. "I was so happy when he asked me about this ring."

"I was happy when he gave it to me." Said Sara, smiling weakly.

"I told him where I kept it and that he should take it the day he wanted to ask someone to marry him. I'm glad to see he seemed to have chosen well."

"He couldn’t have chosen better." Added Luke, making Sara blush. "Although such relationship has involved a lot of skipped classes, if I'm not mistaken."

Leia looked at Sara and Sara felt she owed the woman an explanation before Leia started to think less of her.

"We trained together by the waterfall, that’s all. It was horrible to train with all the others... Master Luke was always picking us two as guinea pigs. We were the ones who had to demonstrate everything and... I always defeated Ben, and that made him hate me in the beginning."

"But that hate was short lived." Said Luke. "For I remember that less than a year after you arrived you two were already having lunch together."

Leia smiled softly, looking at Sara.

"We were great together." Sara spoke in a low voice. "And that's why I can't accept it... I need to know why he left the Temple. I need to know why he left me without saying a word." 

"We'll do that together, dear." Leia turned to her brother and announced: "She's coming with me." 

"And I know the Force will be with you." He replied, smiling.

Sara hugged her Master before leaving his office with Leia. She picked up her bag in her cabin, taking one last look at the place that had meant so much for her, and walked towards Leia's ship, going to the Resistance Base in the planet D'Qar.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know you’re reading and enjoying it! Messages are always appreciated. 


	3. Chapter Three

**D'** **Qar**

**26 ABY**

Two years had passed since her life was turned upside-down. She tried to keep in touch with Master Luke and the Padawans that she had become fond of, but from the past ten months Luke had turned untraceable, the Great Temple on Yavin was closed and all the students were sent home.

“Luke is disappointed, I think.” said Leia, when Sara asked her about the closing of the Temple. “He probably blames himself for Ben’s misdoings.”

“Do you?”

“No. Of course not. My son is old enough to make his own decisions and mistakes. You believe he left the Temple with his friends for a reason, and I’m trying to believe in that too. Although I must admit I sometimes fear he’s allowed himself to be seduced by Snoke’s promises of power.”

“No. Ben wouldn’t do that. That's not who he is.” said Sara, sure of her words.

“I’m trying to believe in that, dear.”

* * *

In the two years since she had left the Temple, Sara learned to adapt to her new life as a Resistance member. Her daily routine was predictable – as it had been at the Temple –, but she was freer in D’Qar to do what she liked. Every day she helped whomever needed help doing whatever they needed done – be it cleaning, cooking, fixing, painting, driving –, she always had time to walk into the woods that surrounded the Base, and she usually meditated by a lake about a mile from the main building. Also, she had found a great number of friends in the Resistance, and Poe Dameron was the funniest of them all – he was probably the bravest too, for he was always fighting the worst fights, never running away from his duty. 

Later that day, Poe had to go to Jakku to meet an old man named Lor San Tekka, a member of the Church of the Force – an underground faith whose followers believed in the Jedi ideals despite not being Force-sensitive themselves.

“Why is Poe going to talk to this Lor San Tekka?” asked Sara.

“He’s considered an expert in Jedi lore, many seek him to share and obtain knowledge about the Jedi, and he has information that may help us find Luke before Snoke does.” explained Leia.

“Master Luke is probably hidden somewhere safe.” said Sara, unworriedly.

“We don’t know what kind of powers or technology the First Order has, Sara. I fear for my brother's safety.”

They fell into comfortable silence; Leia clicked and typed into the computer while Sara just observed her and the others working in the control room.

“It seems we’ll have a guest soon.” spoke Leia, staring at the screen. 

“Who? Is it a threat?” asked lieutenant Connix.

“No. It's a Senator. That’s a Republic ship. They’re coming to give me the position of the Republic regarding my request for financial support.”

“Let’s hope this ship brings good news.” said Sara.

“Yes.” Leia looked at the Jedi. “Will you participate in the meeting as my advisor?”

“Sure. It'll be an honor.”

“This is a very important meeting.” Leia whispered. “Without their support it won't be possible for the Resistance to continue its operations. Financially, we are broken. Soon I’ll have to start selling the few crown jewels of Alderaan I still possess.”

“I’ll do my best to help you, General.”

* * *

 

Senator Wartol arrived about an hour after Leia had seen the Republic’s ship on the radar. 

Sara and Leia were waiting for him in the General's office, and Leia was trying to be optimist about that meeting – she was counting on receiving their support as a recognition of her past efforts that had helped the Republic be founded. 

However, the meeting seemed doomed from the start, for once the Senator walked into the room, the first thing he noticed was Sara, dressed on her white long-sleeved shirt and brown pants, standing by the left side of Leia's chair, hair tied up in a bun, looking as calm as possible, as still as a piece of furniture.

"This is not right." He said, without greeting either of them, and pointing a finger at Leia. "Your beliefs in the old ways, in old wars... I should take her presence here as an insult to myself and to the Republic!"

Sara's blue eyes focused on him, filled with displeasure and a hint of anger.

Leia rose from her chair, her voice hard: "If you see a problem with the presence of someone who was trained to be the keeper of peace and justice, Senator, I honestly think there's nothing for us to talk about and you can do us all a favor and leave."

The man stopped and stared at both of them, pondering between leaving or staying. Then he decided to stay and sat down on the chair in front of Leia's desk.

Leia sat back on her chair and spoke in a gentler tone: “I have no intention of insulting you or the Republic I helped build, Senator Wartol. No aggressive actions will ever be taken towards the Republic – at least not from our side. Now, from the First Order..."

"We've all heard your story, General." he rudely interrupted. "And I don’t believe in it. Neither does most of those who sit in the New Republic Council nowadays. I only came here because some of us respect you and your family enough to let you down in person." He put on the table the contract he had gone there to discuss. "I'm not signing this. The Republic will not finance your mythical war."

Leia stared at him for a while before speaking:

"Not helping us is equivalent to helping the First Order."

"Help them do what?" He asked, with a mocking smile.

"End democracy! You're denying to help me when all I want to do is stop those who want to destroy the Republic!" Leia was nearly shouting at the man.

The Senator got up, looking ready to leave, and Leia stood up too, looking ready to have a go at his throat.

Sara decided to intervene; she silently gave two steps in his direction and raised her hand; then looking into his eyes, she spoke softly: "You will sign this contract."

The man straightened up his back and his eyes seemed to have lost their focus. Then, with a smile, he looked on Leia’s direction again and said, amicably this time:

"I'll sign the contract now."

Leia managed to quickly get over her surprise at Sara’s powers and fumbled nervously on the desk to find a pen to give him. She didn’t dare move a muscle as she watched him sign the contract in all the necessary places – she feared that if she made the smallest noise Sara’s influence over him could be broken.

"Now," continued Sara, "You will go back to Hosnian Prime and convince all the other Senators that this was the best way to ensure the Republic's future."

"Yes. I'll convince them all." He repeated.

"And you won't remember ever seeing me here. We never met." Finished Sara, lowering her hand.

"We never met." He repeated.

Then Sara left the room without even glancing at a perplexed Leia.

"Now that everything is done,” smiled Wartol, looking as if he was still under Sara’s influence. “I'll be leaving. You can expect our first deposit by the end of the day, General."

"Thank you, Senator."

He took Leia's hand, laid a kiss on it and left.

Once the door closed, Leia let go of the breath she didn't know she had been holding; she took the contract in her hands and brought it to her chest, relieved that, somehow, that meeting had worked on the Resistance’s favor. 

The door was opened and Sara walked into the room, closing the door.

The two women stared at one another silently for a while. Sara feared the General wouldn't approve of her mind-controlling powers – they weren’t very fair after all.

But suddenly Leia burst out laughing, and Sara followed her. Leia put the contract on her desk and walked towards Sara, hugging her tightly.

"I don’t know how you did that, dear. I’m just glad it worked.” then she looked Sara in the eyes. “I’ll have to have a talk with my brother about teaching his students how to control people like that. It was helpful today, yes, but that’s a very dishonest skill.”

Sara just smiled at her, not feeling comfortable enough yet to tell her that Luke hadn’t been the one to teach her that. So she just said:

"I'm glad I could help you."

"You did so much more than help me, Sara. I think you just saved the entire Resistance!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ben’s coming on the next chapter (pun intended). 


	4. Chapter Four

**I** **n the Western Reaches of the galaxy's Inner Rim**

The Raddus ship was already orbiting the planet Jakku, which looked yellowish from the space, for it was nothing but a barren globe of scorched badlands and marching dunes due to some past calamity that had turned its verdant fields, forests, waterways and oceans into dust, literally. 

“Is this a safe planet?” asked Sara, looking out of the window from the bridge of the ship and watching Poe’s x-wing approaching Jakku.

“Some areas are safer than others. But there are still Anchorites on the planet so, if anything goes wrong, Poe knows who to look for help.” answered Leia.

“I remember Master Luke speaking about the Anchorites; they’re hermits, right? They help orphan children; their faith has ties with the light side of the Force and they bounded themselves to the Jedi more than a thousand years ago.”

“Yes. Actually, I believe they could help us more than Lor San Tekka, but they are not very fond of strangers, so I doubt any one of them would agree to speak to Poe about Luke. They help you in case of need but they're not the kind that just share information.”

“But they may have told San Tekka something. That's what you think?”

“Yes. That’s my theory. The Anchorites are scattered throughout the galaxy; maybe my brother found a safe place with them somewhere.”

“I’m not really comfortable with hunting down Master Luke.” admitted Sara. “If he’s hiding, I say let him be.”

“I know. But Snoke wants all the Jedi dead and he has already began looking for Luke, to kill him first and make an example out of him, I think.”

"As if the Jedi could ever be extinguished. Force-sensitive children will always be born, no matter what Snoke wants.”

"We know that." Said the General. "But that serves to show us just how demented Snoke is. And he has some dangerous people working for him, too; Armitage Hux – who just killed his own father for political reasons – and a group of Dark Force users called The Knights of Ren that is said to be extremely dangerous."

Suddenly the proximity alarms blared off and one admiral shouted:

"The First Order is here!"

"They must have found out that Poe was going to talk to Lor San Tekka." Said Tallissan Lintra, a pilot, lieutenant and squadron commander for the Resistance.

"But how?" Asked Sara.

"Unfortunately, no one is immune from having spies infiltrated in their operations, dear." Said Leia.

Sara stared down on the planet from the window, but it was obviously impossible to see what was happening down there. Sara tried to find Poe's Force-signature and focused on that, sensing that, for now, he was safe.

After half an hour, she tried to locate him again and felt something was off.

"He's scared." She murmured.

"Poe? You can feel him?" Asked Leia.

"Yes. He's in danger and terrified. But unharmed so far."

"Let's hope he finds his way out of whatever situation he’s got himself into." Said Leia.

Sara just nodded, still looking at the yellow planet.

* * *

"Poe has been taken aboard the Finalizer." Said Sara. "I can no longer feel him on Jakku, so I traced him to that ship." She pointed at the big black ship that could be seen through the opposite window. "Could we get any closer without them realizing we're here?"

"A little bit, yes. But not much." Said Tallie.

Sara closed her eyes, focusing on Poe's energy. She found him with ease but as soon as she’d entered his mind, hers was flooded with pain – he was being tortured!

She quickly retreated and looked at Leia, worry in her eyes.

"He's being tortured by one of those Dark Force users you mentioned before."

"Let's hope they don't kill him."

Suddenly Sara felt someone entering her mind, violently, bringing her to her knees.  _Your friend will be released soon. Be ready to rescue him_. A male voice said.

"Sara!" Shouted Leia upon seeing Sara falling onto the ground.

"He'll be released." Murmured Sara. "A man told me that."

"You mean the Dark Force user told you that?" Asked Leia, confused.

"Apparently, yes.” Sara stood up. “I tried to enter Poe's mind and the man followed back into mine and said that Poe will be released soon, and we must be ready to rescue him."

Leia looked as baffled as Sara was feeling. "It makes no sense..." She said, shaking her head sideways.

"I know." Replied Sara. "And his presence was... familiar, General."

Leia's eyes got big in her face. "You mean... the person torturing Poe could be..."

"Ben." Whispered Sara, nodding.

* * *

True to the stranger's word, a couple of hours later Poe's voice was heard through the ship's intercom: "Can you give me a lift, General?"

And they rescued him from the Jakku desert. Once on board, he told them how a stormtrooper had found a way to fool his Commander, then took the keys to Poe’s cell from another trooper and helped him escape in a Tie-fighter. But, sadly, the stormtrooper hadn't survived. 

“He didn’t even have a name.” said Poe, lying down on a litter to be wheeled to the medical bay. “They just give them letters and numbers. His started with FN, so I called him Finn.” 

“He shall be remembered.” said Leia.

“We’re all glad that you’re back with us, safe.” said Sara.

And Poe’s eyes seemed to light up once he heard her words.

“I sure am glad to see you again.” he replied.

Sara just smiled weakly and looked at Leia, who had a sad look on her face. Poe was taken to the medical bay. Leia looked at Sara.

“I’m sorry for him.”

“Why?” asked Sara.

“He’s mistaken your kindness for love and now he’s in love with you.”

“I thought so... but I never gave him any indication...”

“I know, dear.” Leia interrupted her. “That’s why I feel sorry for him.”

And Sara followed Leia to the bridge, feeling bad for making Poe delude himself.

* * *

The information Poe had got from Lor San Tekka was now inside his BB8 unit. And after putting the droid's location code into the Resistance system, they found it in transit to the planet Takodana. So, Sara, Leia and some other crew members boarded the Raddus again to go after the round droid. Poe insisted on going with them.

 

* * *

 

 

But rescuing the droid wasn’t going to be easy. 

Once they got close to the green and blue planet, they could see they weren't the only ones to have located the droid: there were First Order's ships already orbiting the planet. They passed by them without being noticed and landed close to Maz Kanata's Cantina. But it didn’t take long for the tie fighters to find them, as they walked towards the Castle, and start firing. 

Sara turned around and reached out her hand towards the fighters, using the Force to explode some of them. Then stormtroopers began to arrive on the planet, so Sara ignited her blue lightsaber and ran towards them, trying to kill as many as possible, before they could hurt any of the Resistance members. 

As she was finishing off a large number of the troopers, a big, black, Upisilon-class shuttle landed fairly close to her and from it walked a black creature in a mask. Sara could see that it was a man for the way it walked, and she got ready to fight him when she saw he had a lightsaber attached to his belt.

The masked man turned to face her and he seemed to stop, as if surprised to see her.

She took some steps towards him and watched, with suspicion, as he slowly took his lightsaber in hand and ignited it.

It was Sara's turn to stop – she knew that lightsaber! It didn't use to be red and crackling noisily in anger, but she would recognize it anywhere: it was hers! So that could only mean that the masked creature was... 

"Ben." She whispered.

He put himself in battle position – a position she had taught him – and he looked ready to attack her. So, she put herself in position and attacked him first. Then any doubt that this man was Ben flew from her mind; it had to be him, for sure. He was using all the fighting techniques she had taught him. She tried to hit him on the side but he deflected her blows, however he not even once attacked her fully, not even when she had opened up her guard – on purpose – he didn't take the opportunity to hurt her. 

Suddenly she heard his voice in her mind:  _Sleepwalking_. She blocked one of his attacks and nodded at him. "At two. Takodana time." She replied, face to face with the mask, loud enough for him to hear over the sound of their lightsabers being pushed against one another. He nodded and jumped to the side to try to hit her left arm. Sara used the Force to throw him away and he used that moment to flee, walking into his ship without saying a word or looking her way.

Sara turned her lightsaber off and stood there, panting, watching as the black Upisilon took flight and left the planet. 

"What happened here?" Asked Poe, limping towards her. "Why didn’t you kill him?" He sounded outraged. "That guy tortured me!" He pointed to the ship.

"I didn't have the chance," she lied. "He blocked all my attacks and I had to avoid getting killed too." 

She glanced at Leia, and the General noticed she was lying.

"I think you should rest now, Sara." Said Leia. "Let's get BB8, board the Raddus and go back to D'Qar."

Sara nodded and walked into the ship, straight to Leia's office, where she sat down and waited for the General to appear.

Leia walked in a few minutes later and closed the door; a tall handsome man walked into the room with her and Sara recognized him immediately: Han Solo, Ben's father.

"Han, this is Sara Antiles – Luke's first fully trained Jedi. And Ben's fiancé."

"His fiancé, huh? Antiles? You're Wedge's girl?" He asked.

"Yes." Replied Sara, standing up to greet him properly.

"Wow. That idiot sure knows how to choose a wife."

"That he does." Agreed Leia. "Sara has helped me and the Resistance in so many ways I won't ever be able to repay her."

Sara blushed profusely.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Solo."

"Call me Han, kid. We're family."

"What happened there, dear?" Asked Leia. "You could have killed that man, and he could have killed you, but all I saw was some sort of polite sword fighting."

"That was Ben, General."

"Are you sure?" Asked Han.

"Yes. That was my lightsaber. He did something to it, for it wasn't red and I don't think it would have turned red willingly; the same way his blue lightsaber hasn't become pure white as mine originally was. I think he's done something to it, for it seemed angry, it was crackling like mad."

"Yes, I could hear it from where I was standing." Said Leia.

"Also... he wants to talk." Continued Sara.

"If that's so, why didn’t he? Why fight you?" Asked Han.

"I think Snoke can have access to his mind. He just told me one word: sleepwalking."

"And what is that?" Asked Leia.

"It's a technique we used in the Temple to talk to each other after curfew. We meditated and followed the other's Force energy, then we materialized whenever the other was and spent the night talking. That way we were still spending more time together but without disrespecting the curfew."

"And you've never tried that in the past two years?" Han asked.

"For it to work, both sides have to be open for it and not too far from each other. But I never tried to contact him in the past years. I was too hurt and angry for that."

"And can you do it from here while he's out there on his ship?" Asked Leia.

"He'll probably keep the Upisilon close to our fleet.” supposed Sara. “That's why we can't go to D'Qar immediately. We must spend a few hours here, otherwise I won't be able to talk to him."

"I'll think of some excuse to keep us around here until tomorrow morning." Said Leia.

"Thank you, General."

* * *

Sara went to her assigned bedroom in the Raddus ship and took a shower before lying down on her bed. She needed to rest to gather enough energy to properly look for Ben later. 

After all the fighting and the hot shower, she easily fell asleep. Only to wake up hours later startled, fearing she had lost track of time. She sat on the bed and checked the time, sighing in relief when she saw she still had twenty-minutes until their scheduled time. She drank some water from the glass that was on her nightstand and took a deep breath, those were about to be the longest twenty minutes of her life.

When the time came, she sat up on the bed, legs crossed, eyes closed and began to clear her mind, focusing on his energy. She easily found him, as if two years had never passed, the path to him was open and she saw herself standing in a good-size bedroom (for a space ship’s room), her eyes were immediately drawn to him: sitting there on his double bed, legs crossed, eyes closed, just as she was in her own room. He felt her presence in the room and opened his eyes.

"Sara." He whispered and got up from the bed, walking towards her. He was taller than she remembered, more than a head taller than her now, and he looked bigger – he was certainly stronger as she had noticed when they fought earlier. He had a small smile on his face – his very tired face. They just stared into each other’s eyes for wheat seemed minutes. Sara didn’t know what to say, all she could think of was one word that had been in her head since the morning he left, so that’s what she said: "Why?"

He sighed and before replying: "I had no choice. Snoke had started to haunt my thoughts a couple of months before I left. He whispered promises of power and abilities that no Jedi could ever master."

"And you fell for that?" She furrowed her brows in confusion, not wanting to believe that.

"No. Of course I didn’t.” he quickly said. “I made it clear from the start that I had zero interest in anything he had to offer." 

"So?"

"He stopped bothering me for a week, but when he returned his speech was different. He said he could feel my potential, that he knew my grandfather was training me. He said he could feel Darth Vader's presence on the planet and that he had to be training me for a purpose." He paused, looking at Sara's shocked expression. "I asked him how he could be so certain of my grandfather's presence on Yavin, and he said that he could feel him, that even though Vader had become one with the Force, his energy was unique for his powers were too strong. Then, he said he would give me a few days to consider his proposition. So during those days I realized that, if what Snoke said was true, if my grandfather was really on Yavin, there was only one explanation: I knew he wasn't there training me, but there was someone close to me who had a dead Master."

Sara's eyes widened when, suddenly, she understood and murmured: "Oh, no. I see where this is going."

"I realized that the person Snoke wanted was you. Not me. But he had got to the more obvious conclusion. I knew if I told him the truth, he'd take you, willingly or not, and force you to become a Dark Force user. I didn’t want you to suffer that. So, I took your place."

"You lied to him..."

"Yes. And I have lived that lie every day since." He reached out his hand to touch her face, fearing rejection, but she let him, putting her hand on top of his on her cheek. "Did you know then?” he asked. “Did you know who Master Kin truly was?"

"No." Sara shook her head and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I'd have told you if I had known he was you grandfather. Master Kin only told me the truth on the last night he was by my side, on the same day you left. I was shocked at first but... he was my Master Kin, I never met Vader, so it doesn’t make any difference for me who he was in life."

They stared into each other's eyes for a while. Then Ben gave a step closer to her, leaving less than a foot between them, and his hand moved slowly down her cheek, his thumb caressing her lips tentatively.

"I couldn’t talk to you about any of this,” explained Ben. “I feared Snoke was in my head; and if he were he'd have heard it all."

"Is he in your head now?"

"No, I can block him for short periods of time now; and whatever I do when sleepwalking he can’t access, I think he doesn't even know I can do this. Since I learned that he can’t access my memories from my sleepwalks, I have been using this technique to think about a way to escape but I haven't thought of a good plan so far."

"We'll think of something, together." She spoke softly, her eyes staring at his mouth, and she felt it difficult to focus on anything as she watched his lips moving; she needed to kiss him.

"I hope you can forgive me for leaving you, Sara. I know I caused you a lot of suffering."

"I never stopped hoping that you had a reason to leave. I refused to believe that you would have wanted to turn Sith or that all your promises had been lies."

"Never. This was the only way I thought that could save you." He put both his hands on her face, bringing their foreheads together. Sara touched his chest and he saw her ringless finger. "I don’t blame you for stopping wearing my ring."

"I never stopped wearing it." She said, pulling the necklace from inside her shirt and showing him the red Rol Stone ring hanging from it.

He smiled and pulled her closer, finally kissing her lips.

Feeling his body so close to hers again filled Sara with a mixture of relief and passion; his hands quickly found their way under her shirt, making her tremble. He pulled her shirt out of her body, exposing her blue bra. 

Sara helped him out of his shirt next and stared at his naked chest, he was broader than she remembered, and he had scars that he didn't have before. Ben held her by the waist again and bit her bottom lip, drawing blood; she bit him back and the metallic taste of their bloods filled their mouths. He trailed kisses from her lips to her collarbone, his hands working on opening her bra. Sara whimpered in anticipation, she wanted to feel all of him on her skin. 

“I've missed you so much.” she sighed in pleasure, her hands in his hair. "I feared you didn’t want me anymore, that you didn’t love me..."

“How could I not want you?” he threw her bra on the floor, one hand still holding her around the waist, while the other touched her breasts softly, making her yearn for more. He touched their lips and spoke: "I had to remind myself every day why I had chosen to be here, away from you." He pinched her nipple as he knew she loved and Sara moaned his name, licking his bottom lip. "Once this is all over, the only position you’ll know for a long time will on your back with my dick deep inside of you, and the only words you’ll remember will be ‘deeper’, ‘more’ and ‘Ben’.” 

She moaned softly and he kissed her lips again, passionately, both his hands hooking on her pants and pulling them down her legs, Sara kicked them away, never stopping having her lips taken. He made her walk backwards until her legs hit the bed and she fell onto the mattress. Ben stood up long enough to take off his pants and underwear, while Sara removed her knickers, then he crawled on top of her, between her legs. As their naked bodies touched they both moaned, and he took her lips in a nearly violent kiss, rubbing his bigger, stronger body against her smaller, softer one.

"Fuck me, Ben." It was all Sara could moan once his lips left hers to torture her nipples.

"Soon." He replied as he kissed down her belly button. "First I need to check if you’re as sweet as my memories.” and his head was between her legs.

Sara gasped as his tongue swept her folds, two fingers opening her up for his feasting. She was lost in the pleasure, crying out and trembling as he ate her up. His fingers hitting deep inside of her, not big enough to fully satisfy her but just enough to make her want him more. It didn't take her long to come apart in his mouth.

“Yes. You’re even sweeter than I remembered." He groaned as he watched her body twitch from the pleasure he had given her.

“Fuck me. Now!” she ordered.

“As and you shall receive.” And he positioned his dick between her drenched folds and penetrated her fully in one sure long thrust, making her shout his name and arch her back, her nails digging into his back, leaving marks.

Their Force-energies merged as they always did whenever they made love, but it wasn’t the gentle interlacing they were both used to – no, this time their inner Forces intertwined violently, as their bodies moved against one another, leaving both of them breathless by the strength of it. Ben put his dick deep inside of her and stopped moving to give them time to recover from the intense feeling taking over their bodies. Sara complained and tried to move her hips up, but he immobilized her with his weight. He took her lips again, passionately, making her whimper.

“I dreamed of this every night...” he said hoarsely. “You, under me.” He moved his hips trying to get even deeper inside of her.

Sara gasped, completely lost in the pure pleasure he was giving her, the demonstration of his power in the way his body kept her immobilized for his pleasure. She loved feeling helpless under him, her body completely at his mercy.

“Move, Ben, fuck me.” She pleaded, her hands feeling the hard muscles on his back.

And he complied, but slowly and deep, hitting her cervix hard, making her throw her head back and moan loudly with every thrust. His eyes were fixed on her face, which was contorted with pleasure, her red lips asking to be kissed, her body hot, covered in sweat.

“You're delicious, pet. I could look at you like this for hours.” He thrust deep into her, making her scream. “I think I'll keep you like this for hours, actually.” And he took almost all of his dick out of her just to penetrate her fully, going as deep as physically possible. His mouth going to her nipples and he bit on them lightly, hearing her shout in pleasure and feeling his member being squeezed by her channel as an orgasm took over her body.

Ben had to close his eyes and look for strength to not pound into her and follow her into completion. He stopped moving his hips, putting himself deep inside of her again, and kissed her lips slowly, his tongue caressing hers sensually, he enjoyed the feeling of her rapid breath on his face – hearing her soft whimpers against his mouth filled him with male pride. 

Sara sighed against his lips, feeling completely happy, her body pliant underneath that strong man. She had missed him so much, if he wanted to keep her like that for days she was not going to object.

Ben started to move again, in and out, observing her reactions as she arched and gasped, he decided to pay some attention to her nipples again, he pinched one as his teeth worked on the other.

Sara tightened her legs around his waist, pulling him closer, making it difficult for him to move. So, he grabbed her thighs and took her legs from around his waist, holding them wide open for his invasion. She cried out in pleasure, getting closer to coming again. He felt her climax approaching and let go, pounding into her, aware that he could be hurting her – but her moans and gasps let him know that she was loving it all.

Her body trembled and went rigid as the orgasm took over it; Ben followed her, spilling his seed so deep inside of her that not a drop dripped out.

He entwined his hands on hers and kissed her lips, his dick still deep inside of her.

“I wish we could sleep like this.” He murmured, making her smile.  “Then I'd fuck you again once we woke up.”

He felt her body quiver in anticipation.

“You wouldn’t hear me argue against that.” She replied, touching his sweaty face. “I don't ever want to wake up from this sleepwalk.”

“I have no idea how much effect all of this activity will have on our bodies." he caressed her neck with his nose, kissing her skin softly. She whimpered and moved her hips, making him groan. 

"If I have to sleep for days to feel you like this, even if it's just in our minds, I'll happily do it." She sighed.

"I don’t have that privilege, pet." It was his short answer before moving his hips and making her moan again.

Ben rolled them over and Sara sat on top of him, rotating her hips, closing her eyes as the feel of his dick deep inside of her sent shocks throughout her body. He held her waist, helping her up and down on his member. He was hypnotized by her, so beautiful and sexy, riding him with passion, her breasts bouncing and whimpers and moans leaving her lips.

He sat up, kissed her lips and ordered: “Turn around.” And she obeyed, getting up and sitting back on his member with her back to him. Ben grabbed a fistful of her hair at the back of her neck and pulled her head back. His other hand found her clit and caressed it, making her come fast and hard. He waited till she stopped shaking – enjoying the massage her channel walls were giving his dick – and issued another command: “Get on all fours.” Sara promptly fell forward on the bed, her ass up in the air for his appreciation. He gazed at her swollen pussy and got on his knees, positioning the head of his dick between her nether lips and slowly penetrating her to the hilt. One of his hands went to her hair, pulling on the strands, making her arch her body, sticking her ass out towards his invasion. He thrust into her, soon feeling her pussy clenching around his dick as she screamed and climaxed once again. He didn't think he could come again but his body proved him wrong; as Sara screamed and her channel closed around his member, he felt jets of come leave his body to drench hers. She fell onto the bed and he lay beside her, caressing her sweaty back as they both breathed laboriously.

She turned her head to look at him.

"All I can think about is how much stronger this will feel once we really meet and fuck." She said.

"I don't think we'll be able to survive it." He joked.

They kissed lovingly and once Sara opened her eyes she was back in her room in the Raddus ship, sitting on her bed, alone. She blinked, trying to clear her mind, and get control over her body, after her passionate encounter with Ben. She started to smile and suddenly laughter took over her, she lay down on the bed, on her back, and stared happily at the ceiling. She pulled the Rol Stone ring from the necklace around her neck and put it back on its rightful place: on her finger. She checked the time; five hours had gone by – time passed differently when one sleepwalked.

Sara stood up, feeling tired, although they had made love in their minds, her body seemed to feel as if it had been real. She smiled and walked out of her room to find General Organa and tell her that Ben had had a reason to join Snoke.

* * *

Sara walked into the General's office, it was empty. She decided to wait for her there. After a few minutes she heard a man say: "Have you thought this through?"

And she jumped out of her chair.

"Master Kin!" She exclaimed, happy to see him. 

"Have you thought about what you'll have to tell Leia?" He looked concerned.

"Not really, I..." then she realized: "I'll have to tell her about you!" Then she sat back down on the chair, staring at him, concerned. "Will she understand?"

"I don’t know."

"Wait a minute." She looked at him. "Did you hear what Ben told me? Were you there?"

"Yes. But I left once things got heated." Said Master Kin with a smirk.

Sara blushed, but couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

"I can't stay.” he said, looking at her fondly. “If I do, Leia will know I'm here. I can't hide from her."

Sara just nodded and began to think about how she could possibly tell Leia about Master Kin having trained her and Ben being in danger because of her. Suddenly the door was opened.

"Sara!" Exclaimed Leia, not expecting her to be in there. She quickly closed the door and asked: "How was it? Did you talk to him?" Then she noticed the red ring on Sara's finger. "Oh, I'll take that as a good sign!" She sat on a chair beside Sara's: "Tell me everything."

“Yes. Well... hum.”

"What is it, dear?"

"I don’t know if you'll like to hear all that I have to tell you."

“I’m sure I will, dear. Please, tell me what did you and Ben talk?”

"He did have a reason to leave. I was right about that. But..."

"What?"

"It was my fault, General.” Sara paused and took a deep breath before continuing: “Look, I haven't told you everything about me, there is something that Master Luke knew and I asked him not to tell you, that I'd tell you when the time was right. Only it never seemed right. I never thought I'd have to tell you this."

"You're making me really nervous, Sara. What is it?"

"I already had a Master when I arrived at Master Luke's Temple. I had had a dead Master since I was eight."

"Since the death of your parents."

"Yes. He simply appeared one night...”

 

* * *

 

 

_FLASHBACK_

_It was the middle of the night, and the sound of rain on her window was soothing, it had helped eight-year-old Sara_ _Antiles_ _fall sleep more easily; it had been a week since she had become an orphan. The orphanage where she had been sent to was not bad, although the planet’s weather sucked. It rained 5 out of the 7 days of the week. And it drizzled on the other two. The sun was a rare event, so there were light_ _bulb_ _s that casted fake sunlight in_ _side_ _the building. But Sara was used to_ _Chandrila's_ _beautiful sunny days_ _, s_ _o, for her, Arkanis only added to her sadness. She felt lonely and angry every day. In addition, the orphanage’s administrator was not thrilled to have her there for she wasn't fond of Force-users, and had forbid Sara of practicing her skills, all Sara was allowed to do was meditate._

_The sound of a thunder woke Sara up. She turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling. The other kids had been nice to her in the last week_ _. But there was nothing anyone could do to cheer her up. She was alone, in a strange humid_ _planet, she couldn’t_ _train to improve her control over her powers because of someone else’s fears_ _and she saw_ _no way out of that miserable situation._

_“Sara.” suddenly she heard her name being called as_ _if in_ _a whisper._

_She dismissed it as something from her imagination. She closed her eyes, trying to let the sound of the rain guide her back to sleep. Then she heard again:_

_"Sara."_

_She opened her eyes wide, looking at the ceiling of the dark room, fear taking control of her body._

_"Sara." she heard it again, sounding less like a whisper. "Please,_ _don't_ _be afraid."_

_The eight-year-old girl looked around cautiously, part of her wanting to see someone (proving she wasn’t crazy), but another part wishing she was just having a strange livid dream._

_There was nothing on one side of the room, so she turned her head to look at the other side. And the fear intensified: there was a man there! A young_ _,_ _blue-eyed_ _man who wasn't supposed to be there!_

_"Who are you?" She quickly sat up on the bed, pulling the covers to her chin, trying not to cry. "What do you want?"_

_"Those are two answers that will be hard to give." He replied with a soft smile. "But I'm here to help you..."_

_"Help me with what?"_

_“The Force. I’m_ _here_ _to_ _guide_ _you. To teach you the ways of_ _the_ _Force.”_

_“Why? I have been able to use the Force for years. Why now?”_

_“Because you could end up going down_ _an_ _unstable, dangerous path. I am_ _here_ _to help you not do_ _that_ _.”_

_“Are you a Jedi Master?”_

_“Yes “_

_“I_ _thought_ _you had to be older...” she looked at his suspiciously. “And real, to teach someone.”_

_“I am real. I just_ _joined_ _the Force.”_

_“What does that mean?”_

_“It means that I am one with the Force.”_

_“_ _So_ _you’re dead?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Have you ever t_ _rained_ _anyone_ _before_ _?”_

_“I had an apprentice once. A girl a little older than you.” He replied after a light hesitation._

_“Was she a good Padawan?”_

_“Yes. Although I_ _wasn't_ _a good Master for her then.”_

_Sara stared at the strange half-transparent man, considering if he could be real or just an imaginary friend her wishful_ _-_ _thinking mind had conjured for her. But, after a while, she decided that it didn’t matter, whether he was real or not real, he made her feel less alone, and if he were real, she would be able to improve her powers with a true Jedi Master._

_“_ _What's_ _your_ _name?” she asked._

_“You can call me Master Kin.”_

_“Ok. Master Kin. Will you be around while I sleep?”_

_He hesitated but felt the little girl’s sadness. She was only a child, and her future would be filled with trouble, he decided then that he could offer her some comfort while it was possible. “Yes.” he replied. “I’ll stay until you_ _fall_ _asleep.”_

_“Thank you.” She whispered_ _, getting_ _comfortable_ _under the covers and falling asleep feeling a little less lonely._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

 

* * *

 

 

"Sara, who was he?" Leia had become serious.

"Me." Said Master Kin appearing inside the room.

And Leia jumped from her chair, staring at him and then at Sara.

"You never thought of telling me this before?" She nearly shouted. "And you say Luke knew?"

"Yes. I told him and he could see Master Kin just as you can see him." Spoke Sara, getting up too.

“This is unbelievable!” then Leia went from angry to confused: “Wait a minute. What does this have to do with Ben being on Snoke's side?" 

"Snoke felt my presence on Yavin and wrongly concluded I was there because of Ben.” answered Master Kin. “So, he coveted him as a future apprentice."

"Ben refused him at first, but Snoke kept on insisting.” added Sara. “After some days, Ben realized that the person Snoke was after had to be me and not him. But he kept the lie to save me."

"He couldn't speak about this with anyone, because Snoke was in his head and would be able to find out the truth." Said Master Kin.

"He could have killed Ben for lying to him. That's why he just left without explaining anything." Finished Sara.

Leia looked at them both in silence.

"So," she finally spoke. "My son put himself in danger to save you?"

"Yes." Sara felt guilty, even though she couldn't have done anything at the time to stop him.

"And by the ring I now see in your finger I can assume that he hasn't gone Sith as we’d feared?"

"No, he hasn't."

"Alright." Said Leia exhaling a breath. 

Sara stared at her nervously, glancing at her Master, once in a while. 

"Now we need a plan to help him scape." Continued Leia. "I suspected that my brother couldn't have taught you some of the things you know how to do. However, I never imagined my father could have anything to do with it but...” she looked at Master Kin and said: “Luke always tells me to trust in your redemption. I can't say I did; until now. If you helped raise Sara, and I know the amazing woman she is, I can't keep on doubting you. Thank you for helping her. And, I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, Leia. I'm the one who needs your forgiveness." Said Master Kin, with tears in his eyes.

Leia nodded and looked at Sara again.

"Anything else you haven't told me?"

"No. I think hiding from you that Darth Vader raised me is enough."

"It sure is." She walked towards Sara and hugged her. "Thank you for believing in my son even when I didn’t. You always knew he had to have a reason, and he had: his love for you made him hurt you to save you. I'm proud of him. And grateful that he’s chosen you." Leia took her left hand, where the Rol Stone ring was. "Once this is all over we'll plan your wedding. I can assure you it'll be beautiful."

"All I care right now is for Ben to get away from Snoke."

"So, do I, dear. But a mother can dream of a beautiful wedding for the son she though was lost to her."

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not even the word HUGE can describe this chapter. But I didn’t find an appropriate place to cut it – and considering that a big part of it is a smut scene – I decided to just leave it this long.  
> 
> Hope you're enjoying it! 


	5. Chapter Five

The enormous happiness Leia and Sara felt for finding Ben and learning his true reasons was short-lived, because just two days after they got BB8 from Takodana, the alarms in the D’Qar Base went off early in the morning: the First Order had tracked them and was charging their gigantic weapon to fire on the planet.

Leia ordered everyone to gather in the control room.

"How long do we have?" She asked. 

"Less than six hours." Answered Admiral Akbar.

"Once the sun is gone, they'll be ready to fire." Added lieutenant Connix.

"Does anyone know how that weapon works?" Asked Sara. 

"It runs on quintessence – a type of dark energy." Said Finn, a guy that had come to D’Qar on the Falcon with Chewie and who Sara had heard was the stormtrooper that had helped Poe escape from the Finalizer. 

"Go on." Said Leia.

"It uses a star as a power source; inside the planet there's a team of guys who operate what they call  _collectors_ that gathers the dark energy in stages, redirecting it to the planetary core, where it is held in place by the natural magnetic field of the planet, as well as an artificial containment field maintained by the machinery the First Order had installed within the crust."

All crew members stared silently at Finn, confused looks on their faces.

"Hey, kid, you’ve lost all of us after ‘uses a star as power source’." Said Han. "What we need to know is: is there a way to destroy it?"

"Yes." Continued Finn. "The planetary magnetic field is not strong enough to contain the amount of energy that the weapon requires, so they built a thermal oscillator. If we destroy that before they shoot the weapon, it'll destabilize the whole planet, maybe even blow it to pieces!"

"Right. And do you know where that is?" Asked Han.

"Yes. I can get you to it. But the Base is protected by a planetary shield, we cannot enter it by traveling at sublight speeds." 

"What do you mean?" Asked Han, getting more interested by the second.

"The shield has a flaw, because of a fractional refresh rate necessary for a shield of its size – at least that’s what I heard other troopers say... And if that’s true, the shield can be penetrated by a ship travelling at lightspeed that exits hyperspace inside it."

"That would give you a second to right up the ship before crashing on the planet's surface." Said Leia, concerned.

"Yeah, but I've done more dangerous things." Replied Han.

"So, we're doing it?" Asked Finn.

"Yes." Said Han at the same time that Leia said: "No."

The couple faced each other and spoke in lower tones:

"When have your crazy plans ever worked?" Leia asked her husband. Han opened his mouth to reply but she interrupted: "And don't say the Death Star!"

"It'll work. Don't worry. We'll be back for dinner."

Leia sighed and looked at where Sara was talking to Poe. "I think you’d better take her with you."

"I thought you'd never offer.” he glanced at Sara and then looked back at Leia. “Our son made an insane choice to save her, didn’t he?"

Leia nodded and replied: “But she’s worth it. Without her, the Resistance would have drowned in debt a couple of years ago.” Han looked at her, a question in his eyes. “I'll tell you that story another day.” she promised. 

And they shared a kiss and a hug before Han called Finn, Chewie and Sara to follow him into the Falcon.

* * *

When the Millennium Falcon reached the Unknown Regions, they could already see the First Order’s Base, a white, blueish, planet that seemed to have been cut out in the middle and joined back together with a huge belt that was too tight for it.

“I know that thing is aiming to destroy D’Qar, but we can’t deny that’s an amazing piece of technology.” said Han.

“That’s true.” agreed Sara.

“I’d never seen it.” spoke Finn. “It’s bigger than I had imagined.”

“Get ready, everybody.” said Han, clicking and switching buttons and levers on the panel. “We’re going to enter hyperspace. And there are four chances in, well, four, that we’ll crash.”

Sara and Finn sat down and buckled up, then they looked at each other, concerned. Chewie let out a soft growl and suddenly they were approaching the planet at lightspeed.

The Falcon went through the shield after traveling through hyperspace, and a second later they were crashing against trees, lots and lots of tall, pine-like, trees; Han shouted that he couldn't go any higher for the Base’s detectors could find them. So they kept on hitting the trees for what seemed like minutes, fearing for their lives and the survival of the ship. Suddenly it all stopped and the Falcon crash-landed on the edge of a cliff.

They remained silent for a while, trying to hear if any alarms had been activated. But nothing could be heard.

“This is it. We're in.” said Han, as if not even he believed that plan had worked. “Now, get your weapons and let’s blow this place up.”

With Finn as their guide, they quickly found the thermal oscillator and put explosives on the columns supporting the oscillator's tunnel all the way down to the place where its energy conduit was. 

As they were finishing installing the detonators, Sara felt Ben’s presence.

“Hide, everyone!” she whisper-shouted.

And within seconds, Ben walked into the large room, clad in his Kylo Ren costume, mask and all, being followed by ten stormtroopers.

Sara hid her energy, she didn’t think it was prudent to let him to know she was there. There were too many stormtroopers around and Snoke would see in Ben’s mind later that she had showed herself to him in friendly terms.

So she just watched as Ben walked to the long metal bridge that crossed the middle of the thermal oscillator’s tall room. Han, for some reason unknown to Sara, ran after his son, calling his name. Then the two men stopped in the middle of the long bridge, facing each other, and from afar it looked like they were talking – Sara was too far away to hear anything, but then she felt it: Ben’s sudden burst of anger, a split second before his lightsaber pierced through his father’s abdomen. She screamed “No!” as she felt Han Solo’s energy leave the land of the living, while Chewie roared furiously beside her, firing his weapon on Ben, hitting his target on the side. Sara felt utterly disoriented, as if she had been hit hard on the side of the head; she wanted to run to Ben and shake him, punch him, make him explain the inexplicable. But Finn grabbed her arm, shouting: “The bombs! We have to leave!”

And she followed Finn and Chewie outside. The wookie fired the detonators once they were far enough and they ran towards the Falcon, leaving the exploding Starkiller Base without their ship’s pilot.

 

* * *

 

Once the Falcon landed back in D’Qar, Chewie turned it off and clicked the switch that opened the door, but no one moved.

“Who’s going to tell...?” asked Finn.

“We don’t have to tell her anything. Leia knows it by now. She must have felt it.” answered Sara, before being the first one to get up and leave the ship, going straight to Leia’s office. She opened the door without knocking and her eyes met with the General’s already tear-filled ones. She closed the door and took two steps inside.

“Ben did it.” she said, and the General looked at her in complete shock. “I saw it, Leia.” She never used the woman’s first name, but the moment didn’t ask for formalities; she walked to the chair in front of Leia’s desk and let herself fall on it. “I couldn’t believe my own eyes.” she seemed disoriented. “If anyone had told me such a story I would have punched them, called them liars, but I saw him do it. And I felt Han Solo’s energy vanish as his body fell to the floor.” she finished in a whisper, a tear rolling down her face.

“I don’t understand...” whispered Leia, sounding lost.

“Me neither.”

They looked at each other, trying to find answers where there were none.

* * *

Sara tried to contact Ben through sleepwalking on that same night, and for the next two days in a row as well; but it seemed as if he had vanished, she couldn’t even find his energy in the universe, it was like he wasn’t there. She decided to talk to Leia about it.

“Have you thought about the possibility that he might have closed himself off from you?” asked Leia after hearing Sara’s anguished description of how she couldn’t reach Ben.

Sara stared at Leia as if the thought of Ben double-crossing her was unconceivable.

“If he did that...” She said after a while. “It means he has done nothing but lie to me...” and her voice failed her, the thought being too hard to bear.

“I feel the need to apologize, dear.” Spoke Leia, softly. “I did my best to raise a decent man but...”

“No need to apologize, General.” then Sara fell silent for a while, thinking what she should do next. “I’ll try to contact him again tonight. I can’t believe... I  _won’t_ believe he’s been lying to me. Not until I hear it from his own lips.” she stood up.

Leia just looked at her and nodded.

Sara left the room without another word.

* * *

But Sara was unsuccessful that night too. She couldn’t find him anywhere. So she gave up trying to reach him, with her heart heavy and her hopes crushed by his silence and detachment. 

For the next week, she had one recurrent nightmare, where Ben killed his father and then Leia. And when Sara tried to approach him to demand an explanation, he drove his lightsaber through her abdomen and laughed as he voiced the numerous times she had been deceived by his empty promises. She always woke up in the middle of the night with tears on her face and her heart pounding.

* * *

However, two weeks after the destruction of the Starkiller Base, Sara had a different dream: it didn’t begin with her entering the oscillator room and walking to the long metal bridge; this time she was in a bedroom, a familiar one, although she couldn’t remember from where. Then the room became slowly clearer and she recognized where she was:  _Ben’s room._  Next, she felt a presence and quickly turned around to face him: Ben Solo, dressed in a long sleeved dark-blue shirt and black pants, was there, looking at her uneasily.

She looked at him for a whole minute, too shocked to believe he had really had the audacity of contacting her after killing his father and blocking her out for two weeks. She walked towards him and he visibly relaxed, opening his arms to receive her, but she closed her right hand and punched him hard on the face.

“How dare you!?” she shouted. “You lying murderer!”

"He's not dead!" He yelled as he held his cheek with one hand and tried to protect himself from any other blows that she could deliver.

"Of course he is!” Sara was furious. “I saw you strike him! I was there! No one told me! I felt his energy fade away as his body hit the floor of the bridge. I wouldn't have believed it if anyone had told me you had killed you father!” she paused, her voice breaking as the tears spilled from her eyes.

"Sara, trust me.” he spoke as he walked toward her, his voice soft, as if trying to calm down a scared animal. “I didn't kill my father. I'd never do that." 

She stared at him, finding it hard to believe his words.

"Stop it, Ben. Stop treating me like an idiot! I felt his energy..." 

"It was a trick to fool Snoke. He'd ordered me to kill Han Solo months ago. As I had no idea where my father was at the time, I didn’t waste a minute thinking about it. But when Snoke heard Han Solo was in D’Qar, he reminded me that I had already received my orders and I knew I’d have to do something to fool him, for I didn’t want to kill my father. So I studied how to fake death and I learned a way to do it.”

“So you want me to believe he’s alive and well somewhere?” she asked, distrustfully.

“Yes. I just cloaked his energy with mine. It was very difficult and it took a lot of my powers to do so. Luckily, Snoke believes I got weaker in the past weeks because I’m an inept apprentice who is having a hard time overcoming having committed patricide.”

“Why are you doing this? Why lie to me like that?” she was heartbroken by his attitude. “I was there! I saw you use my lightsaber – mine! – to kill your father!”

“No. That was a trick too. My father knew what was going to happen – what  _had_ to happen for my sake. I explained everything to him through sleepwalking about twenty days ago.”

"Stop it!” she was beyond angry now. “If Han Solo is alive, then where is he? You miniaturized him and now you carry him around, safely, in your pocket?” she asked scornfully.

“He’s in a planet in a remote sector of the Outer Rim, a small salty mineral planet named Crait. It was actually his idea to go there, he said he remembered that there was an old Rebel Base there. I have to admit that when I first told him about my plan I hadn't thought what to do with him afterwards. All I knew is I had to fake his death and hide him. I sent him to Crait with some food and water from the Starkiller Base’s kitchen. He took one of the tie fighters, as I was sure no one would notice it was missing for the Base was about to explode.”

"What...?" Sara began but stopped, not knowing exactly what to say. “Are you listening to yourself? That is a hell of a crazy story... Can you honestly think I’ll buy that? I. Was. There.”

"I know." He walked closer to her. "But I'd never kill my father, Sara. Please. All I ask is for you to trust me. I’ve never lied to you. I'm not working for Snoke because I want to. All I’ve promised you is real: my love, my loyalty, I life together, a family – those are the things I want.”

Sara couldn’t sense any distrust coming from him through the Force. She looked into his eyes, fearing that he could be using her love to fool her again.

"I want to believe you, Ben. I do... Because I always have; and if I don’t trust you now, all the moments I’ve trusted you in the past will become worthless.” she paused and took a deep breath. “Please. If you’re lying to me, just tell me where you are and I’ll come here for you to kill me at once – it’ll be more merciful. Because if you’re fooling me, it will be the death of me anyway." 

Ben smiled in relief and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing their bodies together.

“I’m not making a fool out of you, pet. I love you. I’m actually doing all of this for you.” 

“I know. That’s what my heart tells me.” She whispered against his chest. “It's that the hope which I hold on to with all my strengths. But I was so desperate, Ben... when we arrived back in D’Qar, my mind was spiraling out of control, I feared my love for you could have led me to allow you to trick me..."

"No tricking, pet." He put a hand under her chin, tilting her head up, his eyes meeting her beautiful blue ones, as Sara’s hands touched his face. "I love you, and all I've said is true." And he kissed her lips, softly at first; but the moment she parted her lips to allow his tongue to meet hers, it began a fight for domination. Her hands tightened on his hair as her tongue tried to wrap around his. They both knew there was only one possible outcome for that battle: Ben always won whenever they were behind closed doors. Sara loved to give herself up to him, let him take control over her body whenever they made love. But it didn’t mean she, sometimes, couldn’t make it difficult for him to dominate her.

Sara worked on taking his shirt off of his body and touched his naked chest, the feeling of his hard muscles always left her weak in the knees. She looked up at him again and, with a sexy smile, she got down on her knees, pulling his pants down with her. His hard dick sprung out from his pants and she licked the tip, teasingly. One of his hands went immediately to her hair, pulling her closer, as the other, under her chin, coaxed her to open up her mouth for him. And she did, tightening her lips around his member, she bobbed her head back and forth, taking him almost all the way down her throat.

“You’re delicious, pet.” he always said that, it was the first thing on his mind whenever he thought of making love to her. She was delicious, he wanted to bite and lick her all over. And the sensation of her lips on his dick always had the ability of making him tremble. Her cheeks hollowed and her hand played with his balls, tugging as she knew he loved. He had to stop her before it was too late. So he pulled her hair back, making his dick fall from her lips. “Take your clothes off.” he ordered as he helped her up.

“No.” she said, wanting to make it difficult for him. 

Ben smiled and said: “So I’ll just have to fuck you in them.” and he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her pants down her legs and onto the floor. Then he hauled her up, her legs encircling his waist and his dick teasing her entrance. Sara tried to impale herself on his shaft, but he stopped her, pushing her hard against the nearest wall and penetrating her fully. Sara arched her back and cried out in pleasure.

“This won't do.” he growled, looking at her shirt as if it was offending him by covering her breasts. “Take off your shirt.”

Sara moved her hands to obey him but it was difficult to remove her shirt with him fucking her deeply and hard. She managed to do it and he wasted no time, pulling her black bra to the side, he bit her right nipple as he thrust into her so hard it made her gasp at each invasion. Soon he felt her pussy tighten around him, so he increased his speed and the way her moans increased let him know she was ready to cum on his dick. He grabbed her ass and fucked her harder, his mouth torturing her nipples, then he felt her nails digging into his shoulders and her whole body shook, the orgasm washing over her like a violent wave. Ben let himself follow her and, while still hearing her moans and whimpers, he emptied himself inside of her. 

After a while, he raised his head from between her breasts and kissed her lips, slowly letting her legs go down from around his waist. Sara wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed for a long time, just enjoying the post-orgasmic bliss together.

When Sara opened her eyes, she was back in her room in D’Qar and it was morning –  judging by the sun coming through her window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the info about the Starkiller Base – how it works and how it was destroyed – I got from the Wookieepedia. 


	6. Chapter Six

**From the previous chapter:**   _When Sara opened her eyes, she was back in her room in_ _D’Qar_ _and it was morning_ _– judging_ _by the sun coming through her window._

 

So she jumped out of the bed to get dressed and left her room in less than five minutes going straight to Leia’s office. She knocked on the door and waited, fidgeting. After what seemed an hour but had been just a minute, she heard Leia’s footsteps approaching the door.

“Good morning, Sara.” said Leia, looking as distressed as the day before. “What can I do for you?”

Sara was certain that the news she carried would be more than enough to cheer the woman up. So she couldn’t stop herself from smiling openly and hugging Leia without saying a word, taking the General by surprise. Once they stopped the hug, Sara finally spoke:

“He didn’t do it.”

Leia looked Sara in the eyes, confused by her smiley attitude. “What are you talking about, dear?”

“Ben found me last night.”

Leia froze, her mouth set in a hard line. “Come in.” she ordered, “This is not the kind of conversation I’d like us to have in the corridor.“

Sara blinked in surprise at Leia’s disapproving tone but obeyed, walking into the room. Leia closed the door and continued: “I thought you couldn’t reach him.”

“And I couldn’t. I’ve been having nightmares with him, actually. And last night I was expecting to have the same nightmare again, but it didn’t even start. As soon as I began dreaming I found myself in a bedroom, Ben’s bedroom in the Upisilon ship. And when I turned around he was there; I was mad at him, so I hit him and called him a liar and a murderer. Then he started to explain...”

“Explain what, Sara?” interrupted Leia, walking to her chair. “There's nothing to explain.”

“He explained to me how he didn’t kill his father.”

Leia looked at her with weary, hopeless eyes. “Sara, are you listening to yourself? That's not possible. We felt it, the moment Han’s life was taken, we both felt it.”

“I know. And I was there, I not only felt it, I saw it happen. But Ben said he had already had everything planned out with his father for two weeks prior to that.”

Leia looked at Sara with compassion. “Dear, can't you see that your feelings for him are clouding your judgement? You’re letting him fool you.”

“That’s exactly what I thought too. And I told him I was afraid of believing him again. But he ensured me he was telling the truth, that he has always told me the truth. And I chose to trust him. Again.”

“Sara, if Han is alive, where is he?” asked Leia with despondency.

“Crait. Ben said there’s an old Rebel Base there.”

“Well, at least that part is true: there is really an old Rebel Base in Crait...” Leia conceded.

“I think we should go there.” interrupted Sara. “It's been two weeks already, your husband must be losing his mind, being alone all this time.”

“Sara, if Ben’s lying...” Leia began, the longing to believe in Sara’s words was evident – but she was also fearful.

“He’s not.” said Sara.

“He’s my son, Sara. I want to trust him too. But I can’t risk the Resistance. If this is a lie...”

“It isn’t.” Sara interrupted, again, getting annoyed.

“But if it is.” replied Leia, equally irritated. “We’d be risking to lose all that we have fought so hard to accomplish; if there’s a trap in Crait, we’ll be delivering the Resistance into Snoke’s arms like a present.”

“Ben’s not lying. He can’t be.” Sara’s heart was pounding. “I trust him.”

Leia stared at the younger woman for a while, pondering what she should do next. Sara knew Ben better than Leia, apparently, and he had joined Snoke to save the young Jedi from a terrible future – which he was currently enduring in her place. What he had told Sara had to be true. Leia sighed and felt she had come to a decision: “You have saved the Resistance twice so far. So I feel it’s just right that I trust you. Therefore, half of us we’ll pack and go to Crait, while the other half of the Resistance will remain here and make sure our operations keep going smoothly. We’ll leave this afternoon.”

“I understand, General. Thank you for your trust.” and Sara turned around to leave the room.

“Know this, dear:” spoke Leia, stopping Sara from leaving – making her turn around to face her again. “I wish – with all my heart – that you’re right, Sara. For if you’re wrong, I’ll have taken to their deaths half of the Resistance members who trusted me, on top of having lost my husband and my son forever.”

Sara nodded and, without another word, left the room. She could feel that her whole body was tense with fear – a paralyzing feeling that she might be leading them all to their deaths on the hands of the man she loved and who she was too naïve (maybe) to still trust.

* * *

 

**Crait**

They landed on the white planet undisturbedly. Sara was the first one to walk out of the transport ship that had taken them from Raddus to the planet’s surface. She looked around, noticing how eerie quiet it was; no matter what side she looked, it was all empty and covered in white; the sun reflected on the ground making it almost painful to look down. However, after a while, Sara was able to begin admiring the strangeness and enjoy the silence.

"This is beautiful." Sara whispered to Leia when the woman stopped by her side. “So quiet and white.”

“Yes. It's been decades since I was last here.” Leia spoke, softly. “This is where I discovered that my father was not only involved with the Rebels, but he had actually been one of the founders of the Rebellion.” she smiled weakly. “That is the door to the Base.” Leia pointed at a massive metal door on the side of the mountain to their left. “If there’s someone inside, they already know we’re here.”

Sara looked at the door and walked towards it, feeling Leia follow right behind her. When they were about five meters from it, the door gave a loud clanking noise and started to rise; Sara ignited her lightsaber and Leia got her blaster ready to fire.

The door stopped before reaching halfway up and a single man walked out.

Leia’s sharp intake of breath could be heard by everyone, close and far from her, before she let her blaster fall to the ground and she ran towards the man – who opened his arms to hold her.

Sara turned off her lightsaber, her chest filled with a desire to laugh,  _Ben_ _was telling the_ _truth_ _._ _Ben_ _was telling the truth_ _._ She thought over and over again as she watched the hugging couple. Then the Resistance members began asking one another: 

“Isn’t that Han Solo?” 

“How is this possible?” 

“He died, didn’t he?”

Sara let out a chuckle, the inner happiness she felt was immensurable. She attached the lightsaber to her belt and walked closer to the hugging couple. Leia turned around to face her and exclaimed: 

“You were right, dear! From the start, you were always right about Ben. You trusted my son when I couldn’t.” tears were running down her cheeks. “Thank you.” and she hugged Sara.

Sara looked at Han Solo standing beside them and smiled.

* * *

They settled into the Base very easily; although the place was dirty and some crystal creatures, called Vulptices, had turned it into their home, it was all fine, the animals were friendly and loved to play with other creatures so they took the invasion of the Resistance members as joyfully as possible and the dirt they cleaned in the first afternoon they were there.

Sara found the old dormitories inside the mountain and claimed one room for herself; the bed was very comfortable, more than the one’s at Luke’s Temple. And its comfort was very welcome after a full day of training, hunting, fishing, cleaning game meat, cooking and wiping the Base; Sara lay down and fell asleep in a heartbeat, felling hugged by the mattress. 

Showering on the Base was awesome too. There were five shower stalls deep into the mountain and the water that fed those showers came from a very hot spring; the water so hot that it turned the skin of anyone who showered bright pink; its hotness also meant that after a hard, tiring, day, those waters worked like medicine, helping Sara and the others to relax before bed.

* * *

After a week living on the salt planet, Ben contacted Sara through sleepwalking.

“Ben!” She exclaimed, so happy to see him – but quickly realizing something was wrong for he seemed to be favoring his left side. “Are you hurt?” She asked approaching him and lifting his black shirt.

“Yes. I fear Snoke is suspicious... he tortured me earlier for no apparent reason; and when I asked him why he was doing it, he simply said he wanted to let me have a taste of how bad an idea lying to him could be.”

Sara looked at the injury, it was ugly, burnt flesh around a bloody open wound.

“He hurt you with a lightsaber.” she recognized the weapon used.

“Yes. He used the one he thinks is mine. But I think because it’s yours, the damage was not as bad as it could have been had he used a different lightsaber. The crystal recognized it was me who it was hurting and I felt it lessen its strength. I had never seen anything like it before.”

“That's good. The crystal recognized you and tried to hurt you less. I am glad. I don’t think you’d have survived if it had used its full power. This looks so ugly, Ben.” She put her hand over the wound and focused her energy, trying to heal him. After a while, Ben let out a relieved breath and smiled at Sara when she looked at his face.

“Thank you, pet. I feel better already.”

“But it’s not fully healed. This will take a few more days to be completely close. And there'll certainly be a scar.”

“No problem. In a few days I expect to be already by your side.”

“What do you mean?”

“I'm planning my escape; it’ll probably happen tomorrow night during a shift change.”

“That we’ll give you only six minutes to get into your ship and leave unnoticed.” She sounded worried.

“I won't go with the Upisilon, love. I'll be in the Silencer, at lightspeed.”

“You'll crash-land!” She exclaimed, her worry increasing.

“Yes. So have the medkit ready.” he tried to joke.

Sara looked at him, fearing for his life.

“Please be safe, Ben.”

“I’ve been doing my best for the last three years, pet.”

He put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up, claiming her mouth with his in a deep loving kiss. Then he vanished.

* * *

Sara didn’t tell Leia anything during the next day, she didn’t want to worry the other woman as much as she was already worrying over Ben escaping Snoke.

* * *

True to his word, in the following night the proximity alarms blasted in the middle of the night. Sara ran out of her room and shouted: “Open the door!” making Leia and the others stare at her, in shock. 

“What are you talking about, Sara? They have found us! That door is the only thing between us and...” said Leia.

“It’s Ben!” interrupted Sara. “I knew he was coming, I didn’t tell you anything for I was afraid he might not survive his escape from the Finalizer.”

Leia stared at her for two seconds before shouting: “Open that damn door!!”

And a couple of minutes later, Ben's ship came crashing into the Rebel Base from under the door. Sara ran forward, shouting: "Do not fire!" Then she turned around to watch as the door of the Tie Silencer opened and Ben jumped out of it, scaring everyone around for he was wearing his Kylo Ren uniform.

Sara didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she set her eyes on him for real for the first time in almost three years. She ran towards him and threw herself into his arms.

Ben hugged her tight and she looked up into his eyes before they kissed in front of the entire, clueless, Resistance who was shocked to see one of their own hugging and kissing a man they all feared and hated.

Their kiss was interrupted by Han clearing his throat and saying:

“I think that’s enough now, kids.”

And Sara let her hands fall from Ben’s neck, but his hands didn’t move from her waist. She had to put her hands on top of his to make him let her go so that Leia could hug her son next.

“I am so glad you’re here, Ben.” she whispered.

“I’m sorry for causing you grief, mother.” he said.

“I know your reasons. I understand them, it was all for love. And I owe you an apology too. Sara was the one who made me have faith that you were not lying to us.” she looked at Sara and then back at Ben, saying: “You couldn’t have chosen better, son.”

Sara blushed at those words.

“You look tired, kid.” said Han after hugging Ben too. “You’d better rest, ‘cause now that you’ve escaped, it won't be long before Snoke finds us.”

“Resting is a really good idea.” said Ben.

“Come with me.” said Sara, taking his hand, leading him through the large group of people that had gathered in the main area, going to her small room, where there was only a double bed and a small desk with a chair under it. “This is even smaller than our cabins in Yavin, but the bed is very comfortable.”

Ben closed the door and smiled at her.

“So my mother adores you already.”

“It seems I have saved the Resistance twice already; one of them for fighting you and another for trusting you.”

“I’m so proud of you.” he walked closer and held her in his arms; Sara was a full head shorter than him, so she laid her head on his chest, touching him.

“Can’t believe you’re really here.” she whispered, touching his arms and back. “I missed you.” she rubbed her nose on his shirt-covered chest, smelling his scent.

He put one hand under her chin and made her look up, then he stared into her beautiful blue eyes and kissed her lips, caressing her tongue with his, feeling her shiver in his arms; he let her lips go to focus on her neck.

“Ben, you need to rest.” she said, breathlessly.

“I need you far more than I need rest.” and he took her mouth again, his hands going under her shirt, pulling it out of her body.

“I really like this uniform...” she said, her hands opening his black pants. “It makes you look so dangerous.”

“I am dangerous.” he replied with a smirk.

“Yes, you are.” she whispered in agreement, nipping his bottom lip; she pulled his pants and underwear down his thighs and smiled at him, mischievously. His hard dick sprung free and Sara kissed his lips one more time before going down on her knees, rubbing her nose all the way down his still covered chest until she reached what she wanted and, without any warning, just sucked all of it into her mouth.

Ben groaned, feeling wet heat engulfing his dick to the hilt before he could utter any other word; her tongue swirled around the head, hitting the sensitive underside spot at every turn. He ran his fingers through her soft hair and grabbed a handful of it, controlling each move of her head.

"You look so good, sucking my cock." he groaned. “I missed you, pet.”

Sara hummed around his dick, the vibrations making him moan; Sara loved the way he twitched in her mouth as his hands clenched in her hair.

"So fucking beautiful." He whispered, looking down at her, her mouth and hands working him, playing with his balls, her tongue circling around his girth nonstop, touching him in every way she knew would make him crazy. 

His hand tightened in her hair and he pulled her mouth away from him. Sara's lips were red and wet from sucking him. “You look delicious, pet.” He helped her get on her feet and took her lips again. They walked towards the bed, never stopping the kiss, his hands working on pulling her pants down. Sara fell on the bed and Ben took her pants and underwear off of her body, she threw her bra at him and he stopped a moment to admire her naked form on the bed, ready to be fucked.

He took all his clothes off, never taking his eyes from her. Sara watched his every move as he undressed for her, the many scars on his skin gave him a dangerous look; she wanted to lick him all over, to bite him, marking him as hers forever.

“I can hear what you're thinking, pet." He spoke, his voice heavy with desire. “And I like it. Although you must already know I am yours, forever. But I want to lay my mark on you too.” he kneeled between her sprawled legs, his member pointing up, the leaking tip a red-purplish color, looking painfully hard.

“And how are you going to do that?” she asked, needing to hear all that he wanted to do to her.

His hands caressed her breasts, his fingers pinching her nipples just hard enough to make her moan, the moisture between her legs increasing. Then he put his body on top of hers, letting her feel his weight, something he knew she loved, the head of his member teasing her entrance, making her arch uselessly against him.

“First I’ll touch you, get reacquainted with every inch of your skin.” He kissed her neck, biting her shoulder, leaving his first mark of the night.

“Fuck me, Ben.” she pleaded.

He ignored her words and nipped at her bottom lip, drawing blood. Then he trailed kisses down to her breasts, giving her nipples the attention he knew would make her cry out. He bit, pinched and licked them. Sara tried to pull his mouth away from her breasts as her legs encircled his hips and tried to make him penetrate her body. She was desperate to feel him, and he could tell. But he had waited years, endured countless torture sessions for her, so he was going to take his time. Using the Force, he pinned her arms above her head onto the mattress. Sara was panting, her eyes staring at him as if he was a feast and she had been starving for years.

“I love seeing you like this.” his voice hoarse with desire. “Begging for my cock.” Then he sat on his ankles, between her legs and touched her belly, lightly, making her arch from the bed, wanting more. He caressed her thighs, going close to her pussy but never really touching her there. He could see how wet she was, and the need to dip his tongue between her folds and eat her surged instantly. He put her legs over his shoulders and plunged his tongue into her, hearing her breathless gasps as he lapped at her greedily. Sara moved her hips upwards, offering herself up to his invasion, needing him to take more, to do more. He inserted two fingers inside of her and licked a path up to her clit, feeling her pussy clamp on his fingers, so he quickly stopped all he was doing.

“No!” she complained breathlessly. “Don't stop!”

"I’m not stopping, pet. We are far from stopping.” He let her hands go from the Force-hold and positioned himself between her legs, ramming his thick cock to the hilt into her pussy, making her cry out, clutching the sheets in her hands, as an orgasm tore through her immediately. Ben closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her walls massaging his hard dick. “I never want to leave your body. I'll fill you up with my cum and then I’ll keep fucking you, until neither of us can take it anymore.” then he slammed into her repeatedly.

Sara whimpered at each of his thrusts and opened her legs further apart; his thick length filling her up, hitting all of her sensitive spots at once, throbbing inside of her. She looked at him, taking in how sexy he looked fucking her like an animal. She touched his shoulders, his back, feeling how his muscles moved with each of his powerful thrusts.

He pulled all the way out and slammed into her again, making her feel his whole length going in and out; he grinded his hips against hers, stimulating her clit every time he buried himself deep into her – the feeling of her tightness, hotness and wetness around his sensitive member driving him mad.

“This, oh, pet, how I’ve missed this.” he tried to get deeper, pinning his weight onto her; his lips biting down on one nipple as his fingers pinched the other. “So fucking tight, so delicious.”

Sara was reduced to a quivering, uncoherent, pile of lust. Lost in the feeling of that powerful man fucking her, making her body his to pleasure. Their bodies, covered in sweat, rubbing against one another, his lips on her nipples. She moved her hips upwards, trying to make him get even deeper inside of her.

“I can sense your thoughts, pet.” he spoke hoarsely. “How you love being under me.”

“Yes.” she whimpered.

He held her chin up, his thumb on her lower lip, pulling her mouth open. He licked her lips and plunged his tongue into her mouth on the same rhythm he thrust his dick into her pussy.

Their powers connected and they felt the room quake around them. Sara closed her eyes shut, the feeling of being totally owned by him was overpowering, she arched her back, swiveling her hips; she dug her heels onto his lower back and, with a loud moan, she was taken by pleasure, her pussy closing around his thick cock as a shattering orgasm took over her body; but Ben never stopped his moves, he held onto her hips tightly as she bucked and convulsed under him, never stopping fucking her, taking her from one climax to the next until it had all become too much for him, her drenched hot pussy tightened and clamped down around his swollen dick, so he came inside of her, hard, feeling every jet of hot cum that left his body to fill her channel.

He kissed her lips, slowly, enjoying the feeling of completion they both felt in that moment. Sara caressed his hair and shoulders, feeling his skin as wet as hers with sweat. He moved his hips slightly, trying to get his bulky frame from the top of her, but Sara was having none of it, she held him against her body.

“We’re not done here.” she spoke breathlessly. She wrapped her legs around his waist tightly and rolled them over on the bed, sitting on his half-hard dick. “Until neither of us can take it anymore, like you said.”

Ben sat up on the bed, his arms wrapping around her waist, his dick quickly hardening again as Sara sat on him and rotated her hips.

“The dreams helped...” she whispered, her eyes closed, just focusing on the feeling of him inside of her. “But this... oh, this is so much better. To really feel you,” she touched his sculpted chest, sitting on him slowly, to the hilt. “To have your sweat on my skin, your cum inside of me.” she finished in a moan.

And his hands were on her hips, helping her up and down on his hard dick. Then one hand went up to her face, his thumb caressing her lips; she took his thumb into her mouth and suckled on it. He brought her face close to his and kissed her savagely, forcing her down on him with his other hand, hitting deep into her. Sara moaned, her hips moving in a circle, rubbing her clit against his pelvis every time he got deep into her pussy. It didn’t take long for him to have her arching her back in pleasure on top of him, her breasts bouncing as she rode his dick. He lay back on the bed and pulled her towards his chest, one finger going to tap on her asshole, prodding her tight hole. Her pussy clenched and her orgasm exploded through her, taking him with her, he spilled his cum once more inside of her as she was still riding her climax.

Sara laid her head onto his chest, feeling his cum dripping out of her as his dick softened still inside her body.

“I love you.” she murmured, raising her head to touch her nose to his.

“I love you too, pet.” his arms encircled her body, and he rolled them onto their sides.

After a soft kiss, they fell asleep, their bodies glued together by sweat, cum and love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they're finally together!   
> And Snoke is coming (no pun intended, for goodnesssake).


	7. Chapter Seven

Living in Crait was good after one got used to the planet’s strange weather (never warm enough during the day and very cold at night). Luckily there were a lot of old coats and heavy duvets left behind by the Rebels. And Han had fixed the Base’s heating system on his first week on the planet so, at night, the cave was very comfortable.

Two months had quickly passed since the Resistance landed on the planet. The fear of being found by the First Order haunted them daily, but no alarms had rung ever since Ben’s arrival.

Every day they had lots of fun finding their food; the crystal creatures helped them hunt some large mammoth-like animals that lived about a mile south of the mountain – the little critters enjoyed the meat as much as the Resistance members so they always let someone know whenever there was one of the mammoths nearby. Also, deep into the cavern, they found large, edible, mushrooms that were added to soups and sauces. Not to mention the ocean, a couple of miles north, where Poe liked to spend his days fishing.

Sara's friendship with Poe had turned to inexistent after Ben arrived. Not only because Poe was avoiding her but every time she found a way to talk to him, Ben appeared out of nowhere and made Poe walk away.

Sara felt guilty for making Poe suffer but she couldn’t be happier herself; she slept every night in the arms of the man she loved, spent her days training, hunting and helping organize the Base. And, in the evening, before dinner, Ben and she meditated together. 

Ben felt lighter, happier, than he had ever been in years; after living under Snoke’s tyranny for three years, the freedom he had in Crait was priceless. And he woke up every morning beside Sara – something he thought he would never have again.

Overall, life was good in the salty planet; but they knew it wouldn’t last much longer, the First Order had to be close to finding them after two months.

* * *

And exactly seventy-two days after they had arrived in Crait, the proximity alarms went off one morning as they were all having breakfast. No one moved or spoke for a moment, silverware and cups were put on the table as everyone looked around, staring at one another, fearful. Leia stood up, walked to one of the many screens and announced: “They’re here.”

Immediately, everyone got up and started to run to their posts. They all knew what to do, it was common knowledge that they didn’t stand a chance against the First Oder, but they weren't going down without a fight. The muffled sound of tie-fighters shooting down on the door was heard.

“Open the door.” ordered Sara.

And she ran outside with Ben by her side and they began to explode the fighters by using the Force – something that she had taught him the basics by using rocks.

“This is so cool.” said Ben after he exploded some fighters. “How have I never thought of it before?”

“It’s cool but it demands a lot of our strength. We won’t be able to do it for long. Snoke could be here any minute.” she replied, exploding two tie-fighters.

However, the fighters never stopped coming no matter how many they destroyed.

“We’d better give up.” said Sara. “There are too many of them. Let’s go back inside.”

Ben nodded and they walked back into the mountain, the door being closed behind them.

“They are too many.” said Sara to Leia. “We would just exhaust our energies...”

“I understand, dear. Poe fixed some V-4X-D ski speeders he found and will lead an attack on the fighters.” Leia replied.

“But that won’t...” started Ben.

“I know, son. But it’s all we’ve got.” spoke Leia in a defeated tone.

* * *

It didn’t take long for the speeders to admit defeat; out of the nine speeders, only four were still running after 10 minutes, so Poe ordered them all to retreat.

When Poe jumped out of his speeder he was met with silence inside the mountain – something unusual since there was a battle being fought on the outside. They all stared at the screens, watching as the First Order’s number increased on the planet. Leia turned off all the alarms, they didn’t need that fear-inducing sound reminding them they had no chance of escaping.

“Has anyone answered?” she asked one of her lieutenants.

“No. Nothing. They've heard us, but no one’s coming.”

Leia sat down on a chair, feeling tired. Han stood by her side, one hand on her shoulder. 

Sara looked around the base, the expressions of defeat on their faces made her want to cry. Then her eyes fell on one of the screens, seeing a new ship had landed on the planet.

“Ben.” she called, walking close to the screen. “Is that...?”

“Snoke’s personal craft. Yes.”

And they stared at each other; what they feared the most had just happened: Snoke had come to the planet personally. Ben wrapped his arms around Sara and she felt safe for a moment, with his strong arms around her. But it was brief, she stared up into his eyes and they shared a kiss, slow and soft, comforting – for they knew what they had to do, but feared (half-certain) that they wouldn't be enough to defeat Snoke.

They pulled apart and Ben looked her in the eyes, saying: “Let’s do this.” Then Sara clicked the button that opened the door and, without saying another word, they walked outside to face Snoke.

The reflection of the sunlight onto the white ground was blinding, as usual, as they walked a few meters outside. After a minute they got used to the light and were able to see the tall figure that walked out of a modern Lambda-class shuttle in the distance.

Sara stared at the pale, frail-looking man – who walked with apparent pain and difficulty –, and looked at Ben questionably.

“Don’t let his appearance fool you.” he said, noticing what she was thinking. “He’s old, strong with the Force and experienced.”

They stopped about thirty meters away from the metal door and waited as the disfigured man – dressed in white and golden robes and some kind of slippers – walked towards them.

“There you are, my stupid apprentice.” said Snoke trying to sound amiable. “I was worried.” Then his eyes fell on Sara and stayed on her for a whole minute. “Oh, I see.” he finally spoke. “So it wasn't you...” he looked at Ben. “It was her.” Then he snickered spitefully. “It makes so much sense now. My training could never have worked on you when it was designed for her. Oh, dear girl, I can feel it.” he closed his eyes, as if savoring a delicious scent. “Your Master’s strength in you. It's powerful and intrinsically bound to your own Force, due to the many years he spent training you. It's marvelous.”

“My Master has left me a long time ago.” shouted Sara, feeling tense.

“Oh, no no no. He's never left you. I can sense him here, right now. And there’s so much of his powers in you.” he stared at her, smiling wickedly.

Sara looked at Ben for a second.  _What’s he_ _talking_ _about? Can you feel it too?_

_Yes. I've always felt Master Kin’s powers in you_ _;_ _and I could tell he was powerful._

She was confused for she hadn't ever thought about it; she felt her powers as her own, never noticing her Master's along with hers.  _Even_ _now you can feel it?_

_Yes._

Then she looked back at Snoke – who seemed unaware of their brief conversation.

“He’s gone. My Master gave up on me.” she lied.

“We both know that’s not true.” said Snoke, the smirk making his face look even more deformed. “No Master would give up on training a powerful apprentice like you. He knew you were ready. And you are indeed. But I could help you still. There's so much he didn’t teach you.”

“Not interested.” and she ignited her lightsaber. Ben did the same.

 Snoke’s thin distorted lips contracted disapprovingly.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.” he spoke softly. “For if you won’t accept my proposition, you only leave me one choice: to kill you. Both of you. And believe me when I say it does make me sad to be forced do so.” he stared at them as if seeing something he wanted but couldn’t have. “I have no use for my faulty apprentice anymore, but I must say that you two, together, have so much power – not enough to defeat me, of course, but it’ll certainly be interesting to see you try.”

Then Sara and Ben attacked, together, Snoke ignited his own golden lightsaber and the three of them fought. The couple was skilled but they knew, from the first moment, that they wouldn’t be able to defeat him. All their efforts were easily dismissed by the tall, despicable man.

Sara got one blow to hit her target, and Snoke fell down on one knee – for her lightsaber had slashed his right upper thigh.

“Enough of this!” shouted Snoke, still on the ground, the pain was obvious in his distorted face.

Ben used that moment of weakness to attack him, aiming to cut Snoke's head from his body. But the hideous man was faster, using the Force to get himself up, with a move of his hand he sent Ben flying backwards, hitting the salt-covered ground hard.

Sara ran to where Ben had fallen, seeing a big blood-red stain forming on the ground around his head. She threw herself onto the ground on her knees by his side and tried to wake him up.

 _Ben_. She tried to reach him through their bond.  _Can you hear me?_

No response.

She felt tears gather in her eyes and checked for a pulse; she found one – faint, but there.

_Don't die. Please._

Then Sara felt Snoke’s presence getting closer and looked up; the horrid man was walking slowly towards her and Ben, unworriedly, as if enjoying a stroll in the park.

“To show you how good my intentions are, I’ll give you another chance to come with me, my dear. I see so much potential in you.” said Snoke, stopping about five meters from them. “The powers Lord Vader left within you need just to be awaken.”

Sara stood up and faced him, igniting her lightsaber again; fury burned through her veins, she wanted nothing more than see his ugly head fall to the ground. But she couldn't simply attack him, no, she had to think of a plan, because she knew nothing would work – she wasn’t strong enough to defeat him on her own.

“I can sense it in you; his training left a unique mark in your powers.” continued Snoke.

And his words gave Sara an idea – a crazy idea, but it was better than no idea at all.

 _Master Kin._  She thought, focusing on his energy, trying to call him to her. Meanwhile, in the background, she could still hear Snoke going on and on about all the marvelous powers his training could give her. _This lunatic says you’re here. Please, Master Anakin, help me._ She never used his name, but she was desperate.

 _I am always around, dear._ Said Master Kin as he appeared on her right.  _And_ _,_ _of course_ _,_ _I’ll help you_ _. O_ _pen up your energy_ _to me_ _and we’ll defeat him, together._

 _Thank you._  Sara replied, smiling briefly at him. Then she looked at Snoke again, for a brief moment, before closing her eyes, opening her mind to receive her Master’s energy inside of her. She gasped in surprise when she felt how powerful she had suddenly become. Insanely powerful.  _Was this how you felt?_  She had to ask. It was overwhelming.

 _Yes._  Master Kin answered in her mind, a hint of sadness in his voice.  _All the time._

 _It’s maddening._ She felt invincible, as if all the powers in the world answered to her, she owned everything. She just had to order and she could have anything she wanted.

 _Let's end him now._ Said Master Kin.

Sara opened up her eyes and stared at her enemy, watching the smile on Snoke’s face fade slowly as he assimilated what had just happened, his eyes grew big in his deformed face, his smug attitude turning into fear and terror.

Sara felt Master Kin take control of her body; he turned off her lightsaber and moved her right hand up, her fingers on Snoke’s direction.

 _Now, search for his energy and_ _demand_ _it_ _to_ _disintegrat_ _e_ _._  Spoke Master Kin.

Sara clawed her hand towards Snoke and did as Anakin had told her: she closed her eyes, finding Snoke’s life-energy and compelled it to dissipate – disconnecting one molecule from the other; Snoke’s unexpected scream let her know that it was working, his agony shriek could certainly be heard for miles. She opened her eyes and put all of her and Master Kin’s energy into destroying Snoke and, as sudden as the screaming had begun, it ended. Then the planet fell silent, Sara stared at the empty space where Snoke had been, feeling a mixture of astonishment and happiness at what she had done. She looked around and saw that the First Order’s ships had all left, only Snoke’s personal Lambda-class shuttle remained.

The sound of fast-approaching footsteps brought her back to reality and she turned around to see Leia and some others running towards her. They all stopped dead on their tracks the moment she turned around, only Leia resumed walking closer to her.

“What’s wrong?” Sara asked, confused by the others’ sudden fear.

“Your eyes, dear.” said Leia, worried. “They’re red.”

“It’s Master Kin, he’s still in me. He helped me kill Snoke.” she said, smiling.

 _Sara_ , she heard his voice in her mind.  _You used all of your energy to destroy him, I’m the one keeping you awake. Once I leave your body, you’ll_ _lose_ _consciousness_ _._

_Will_ _I die?_

_No, but_ _it_ _might take some days for you to recover._

_Will I see you again?_

_Certainly, dear. I’m always around._

Then Sara closed her eyes, feeling all energy literally leave her body, and all went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to Wookieepedia there’s no ocean, mushrooms or mammoths in Crait, so I made all that up; Lambda-class shuttles, on the other hand, are canon. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Ben woke up startled and quickly sat up, but was immediately taken by a strong wave of dizziness that made him drop back onto the soft pillow, eyes closed.  _Pillow?_ He thought, confused; the last thing he remembered was the feeling of being thrown backwards by Snoke onto the white salt-covered ground.

He opened his eyes again and looked around the strange room he was in, trying to identify the place. His fear ceased once he saw his mother standing by another bed. And on that bed lay...

"Sara." He whispered, sitting up again – slowly this time – and getting out of his bed. He felt his legs weak and had to support himself against the wall to walk towards them.

“Ben!” exclaimed Leia, immediately going to help him walk to Sara’s bed.

“What happened?” he asked. “I can’t remember much. Did Snoke escape?”

“No. Sara killed him, son."

"What? How?" He asked, astonished.

"All I know is she had my father’s help.”

"Master Kin." He said, nodding in understanding.

"That's how she calls him, yes."

They reached Sara’s bed, and Ben touched her pale cheek, worry marking his face.

“Is she ok?” he held her hand. “I can’t sense much of her Force.”

“She passed out a couple of minutes after defeating Snoke." Leia paused, sounding suddenly disconcerted. "Her eyes were red, Ben. Everybody was terrified to get close to her. Even now, they ask about her, for we’re all thankful that she saved us but... they are too scared to visit.”

“What exactly happened after I fell?”

“I'm not sure, only she can tell us the details. All I saw was Sara running towards you, falling onto her knees to check your pulse, and standing up a minute later, only to turn off her lightsaber and reach out her hand towards Snoke, who looked suddenly terrified and within seconds started to scream in agony." Leia looked at him, her voice heavy with consternation. "It was horrible, Ben. Then he started to disappear, as if something was disintegrating him. Can you imagine the amount of power – the Force – necessary to turn someone as strong as Snoke into nothing? We all felt it... it was the most powerful thing I have ever witnessed.”

Ben caressed Sara’s face, worried that he couldn’t feel her powers as he normally did.

“How long have I been out?” he asked.

“Two days. You hit your head pretty bad when you fell.” Leia touched the side of his head, showing him it was bandaged. 

"What has the doctor said about Sara? Will she be ok?”

“Doctor Aurin thinks so. She checked her and it doesn’t seem to be nothing wrong. Although we don’t know why she’s not waking up.”

Ben put his hand on Sara’s forehead and tried to talk to her:

_Can you hear me, pet?_

_Ben._  He heard her whisper in his mind after a while.  _Yes, I can hear you. How are you?_

_I’m fine. Head's bandaged up but I'm awake. Why aren’t you up? Is something wrong with you?_

_No. I'm just resting. Master Kin said it could take some days to recover because I used_ _up_ _all_ _of_ _my energy..._ She paused.  _I feel so weak, Ben._ She finished in a frail voice.

 _Don't leave me, love._ He pleaded.

_Never, Ben. But I_ _think I’ll_ _need time to recover... are we still in_ _Crait_ _?_

_Yes. I’ll be here waiting for you. I love you._

_Love you too._

And Ben removed his hand from her head and looked at his mother, smiling.

“She’s fine, just resting.” he smiled.

“Good to know.” replied Leia, relived. “Now, you’d better return to bed and get some rest yourself.”

 

* * *

 

Another two days went by with no signs of Sara waking up. Ben spent all days with her, being under medical observation himself. But there was another reason that made him never want to leave Sara alone: Poe Dameron visited her every day.

After three days just watching the man enter the room, look at Sara and leave, Ben confronted the Resistance pilot:

"What do you want?" He rudely asked.

"Nothing, man." Replied Poe, sounding disheartened. "Just want to know if she's ok."

"She will be." Answered Ben, looking at the other man with suspicion.

"Good to know." Then Poe motioned to Ben's bandaged head. "And you?"

"Just peachy." He sarcastically replied.

Poe nodded and left the room after looking one more time in Sara's direction.

Ben felt enraged; jealousy making his blood boil.

“Why is he always here?” he angrily asked his mother the moment she walked through the door; about an hour after Poe left.

Leia frowned in confusion at first, trying to understand who her son was talking about. Then she realized – considering how angry he was – it could only be about Poe. “He's in love with her.” she answered, honestly. Ben looked at her, his eyebrows twitched into a frown. Leia quickly explained: “Sara was nothing but kind to him, never implying that she wanted anything but his friendship, but I don’t think he’s used to kindness. Add to that how beautiful she is... and Poe couldn't’ help but fall for her. I tried to talk to him many times, but he never listened to me. I told him she was engaged but he ignored it.”

Ben held Sara’s hand more tightly, as if she would elope with Dameron if he didn’t. He looked at her, so pale on that bed and his anger subsided.

 _What’s taking you so long to wake up, pet?_  He asked her.

 _I don’t know, Ben._  She spoke softly.  _I am little stronger but I just feel so tired, as if my energy is having a hard time recovering from the battle._

“Could she be sick or something?” Ben asked Leia out loud.

“Well, we didn’t scan her for any illnesses for we thought she just needed time to recover from the fight. Why do you ask? Did she say anything?” Leia asked, concerned.

“She said she feels a little stronger but also tired.”

“I’ll find doctor Aurin.” and Leia left the room, returning a couple of minutes later with the small dark-haired female doctor.

“General Organa told me you think there might be something wrong with Sara.” spoke doctor Aurin. 

“Yes. She said she feels a little better but something is keeping her from fully recharging.” he replied.

“She...  _said_ that?” asked Aurin, looking at the sleeping woman on the bed, a bit confused.

“Mind-link.” explained Leia. “They can communicate like that.”

The doctor seemed impressed and approached Sara’s bed, taking a device from her pocket and scanning Sara’s body with it. "We didn't check her for anything when she was brought in but there's no harm in doing it now." After a few minutes she declared: “Well, I think I've found what is keeping her from getting better fast.”

“What is it?” asked Ben, nervously. “Is she sick?”

“No. She'll be fine.” said Aurin turning off her device and looking at him with a smile. “She’s pregnant.”

“What?” exclaimed Ben and Leia at the same time.

“Just six weeks, it’s pretty soon to tell you anything but... here.” she turned her device on again and showed them some picture on the screen. “See this round thing?” they both nodded. “This is the amniotic sack where the baby will develop, right now it’s just a group of cells too small for us to see anything.”

Ben put his hands on Sara’s belly and tried to feel it. He quickly found it: a small energy, different from Sara’s, emanating from her body, so fragile, but its heart was already beating, and he could feel its beautiful, pure Force. He chuckled and let his head fall on the bed by her side, tears of happiness falling down his face.

“Thank you, Aurin.” said Leia, tears in her eyes too. “Could you please leave us, now?”

“Yes, General.” and the doctor left.

Leia hugged her son and they both laughed from sheer happiness.

* * *

Sara woke up later that same night. She slowly opened her eyes to find Ben’s head near her right hand. She touched his hair and he woke up, looking at her and suddenly jumping up, exclaiming her name:

“Sara!” he hugged her tight. “Oh, pet, please don’t ever do this again.” he looked into her eyes.

“Don't worry, Ben, I won't. I’m so glad to see you’re fine.” she caressed his face. “Your head was bleeding when you fell. I was so scared.” she touched the bandage on his head.

“I’m fine. And you also scared me... when I woke up, I couldn’t feel your Force like usual. I feared you were dying.” he took her hand from his face and brought it to his lips.

“We’re both alive and well. That’s all that matters now.” she pulled him for a hug again. “Did your mother tell you what happened?” she asked as they stopped hugging.

“Yes. She said Master Kin helped you... that your eyes had turned red and you scared everybody."

“Yeah. I remember the look of fear on the Resistance members’ faces.” she paused before continuing: “Master Kin said he’s always been around, that’s why Snoke could sense him.” 

“I could too. His presence was always around you, but I never saw it as it not being yours, it was a normal part of you for me ‘cause I’ve always felt it... and according to what Snoke said, my grandfather’s training left a mark on your powers.”

“Yes. I can understand it better now. I know what Snoke was talking about. And when Master Kin possessed me...” she stopped, shuddering at the memory of that powerful feeling. 

"How was it? To feel his powers.”

“It was... overwhelming, Ben. He was so powerful; I can understand why he got mad.... it was too much power, I could sense the entire universe, I could control it all with just a thought.”

“My mother told me you disintegrated Snoke.”

"Yes. I wished him gone, I visualized each of his cells breaking and destroying itself and it happened. He just vanished right on the spot."

“I’m glad he is gone; the war is finally over, and we both survived it. Now our life together can begin.” He looked at Sara affectionately before kissing her lips; when the kiss stopped, he was staring at her with a silly smile. 

“What?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that? Something wrong?”

“No. Nothing. It's all perfect now. Did you hear anything we said around you?”

“No. Why?”

“We found out what was keeping you from waking up.” he said, smiling. “You're pregnant.”

Sara’s eyes got huge and she smiled back, touching her belly. “Really?”

“Yes. I’ve felt it, pet. It's there, his Force.” continued Ben.

“ _His_  Force?”

“Yes. I think it’s a boy.”

She closed her eyes and tried to find it; she opened her eyes, gasping in surprise when she felt it.

“Yes! I can feel it. And I think I have to agree with you. It's a boy.” she looked at Ben, tears in her blue eyes. “Could we name him...?”

“After my grandfather?” continued Ben. “Of course. After all, he helped you save us.”

Ben hugged and kissed her passionately, the idea of finally having a family again filled Sara with sheer happiness. They were so immersed in their bliss that they didn’t feel a new presence materializing in the room.

“Anakin Solo sounds good.” they both heard.

The couple broke the kiss and stared at Master Kin as he walked towards them.

Sara smiled at her Master and looked at Ben – who was staring at Anakin with a shocked expression. Then Sara realized: “You can see him!”

“Yes.” Ben replied, still staring at his dead grandfather.

“I didn’t have permission to show myself to you before, Ben." Explained Master Kin. "I'm sorry. I just came to let you two know how honored I am by you naming your kid after me. So I’d like to say: thank you.”

“Thank you for helping Sara.” Ben said. “Thank you for guiding her to the Temple; to me.”

“It was deemed to happen, Ben. Your paths were bound to cross, I just speeded things up.” Master Kin replied.

“Thank you anyway.”

“Will I see you at the wedding?” asked Sara. Ben looked at her, inquisitively. “Your mother said she’ll throw us a wedding party once we get to Chandrila.” she explained.

“Yes. Of course. I'll be there.” answered Master Kin before disappearing. 

* * *

In the afternoon of the following day that Sara had woken up, the proximity alarms on the Rebel Base rang again. Ben ran from the infirmary to the front room and got ready to fight whatever threat it was. Through the screens he could see his ship, the Upisilon, had landed right in front of the huge metal door.

“Who could this be?” asked Leia. “That’s your ship.”

“This could be Hux. I didn’t have the chance to kill him before I left.” answered Ben, worried. “If he took control over the Upisilon, I wonder what happened to my friends, the Knights of Ren.”

But his fear was short-lived, for after a minute the doors at the bottom of the black ship opened and from it emerged the four Knights, carrying a disheveled ginger man at the end of a leash in front of them.

Ben went outside, a smile on his face.

“We brought you a gift!” shouted Jon, one of the Knights, when he saw him. “I’d say it’s a new puppy but I don’t wanna insult the sweet canines.”

Ben punched Hux’s nose before going to shake hands and exchange hugs with his Knights. They had been through hell together, they were like brothers to him.

“Snoke is gone, right?” asked Len, another Knight.

“Yes.”

“How did you do it, man?” asked Phil, a Knight too.

“I didn’t. My wife did.”

“Wait, what?” asked Jon. “So you had the guts to marry the chick that killed Snoke? That takes balls, man...”

“And we have a baby on the way.” continued Ben.

“No way!” shouted the Knights.

Ben walked them into the Base. Hux was taken by some Resistance members to one of the cells and fed.

Ben led the Knights to the infirmary to be checked for any injuries.

“Wait a minute. That’s our friend, Sara.” exclaimed Jon as soon as they entered the infirmary. He walked closer to her sleeping figure on the bed. “Antilles, from Master Luke’s Temple!”

“Yes. And my future wife.” confirmed Ben.

“Of course. I remember how close you two were. You skipped classes together.” said Len.

“We always talked about it.” said Nate, another Knight. “Wait, so she killed Snoke?”

“Yes.” confirmed Leia, walking into the infirmary with Doctor Aurin. “How did you get here?” asked Leia as the doctor checked all four men. “I need to know if we’re about to have more visitors.”

“Long story short: we killed Phasma, befriended the stormtroopers and found Snoke’s coordinates on the main computer.” answered Len.

“Surprisingly, none of it was difficult.” added Phil. “Killing Phasma was no sweat. The moment we mentioned our escape plan to some troopers they told the others and they were all more than happy to give the bitch to us. Did you know Phasma was a woman?” he asked Ben.

“Yes.” he answered. “I had heard her voice. But I never saw her without her armor.”

“She was pretty, man.” said Nate. “Evil, yes, but pretty.”

“I cut her head off.” said Jon, unregretfully. “We went after Hux next. And, again, the troopers helped us.”

Doctor Aurin finished checking them and declared all the Knights healthy and unhurt.

 “We decided not to kill Hux and give him to the Resistance, instead, as a sign of friendship.” completed Phil.

"What will you do to him?" Asked Len to Leia.

"I was thinking and I've decided to give him to the New Republic; they can decide what to do with him." Said Leia. “I’m done with this war.”

In that moment, Sara moved and sat up on the bed slowly.

“How are you, love?” asked Ben, getting close to her bed.

She stared at all the men in the room, recognizing them.

“It’s great to see you, guys.” she said, smiling.

“Aren’t you as gorgeous as I remember.” commented Jon.

Ben looked at him disapprovingly.

“We brought a ginger gift and...” began Len.

“I heard it all.” interrupted Sara. “And I’m glad this is all finally going to be over soon.”

“Yes, dear.” agreed Leia. “Once Hux is out of our hands, our lives can get back to normal."

"Whatever  _normal_ is." Said Sara, smiling. "I was an orphan raised by dead Darth Vader... I can't say I know what normal is, General."

And they all laughed.

“That’s a good one, Sara.” said Jon, thinking it was a joke.

“I’m not joking, Jon.”

Then all the laughing stopped, the four men stared at her too shocked to find it funny any longer.

* * *

Later that day, Leia contacted Cal Omas, Chief of State of the New Republic, in Mon Cala – an oceanic planet located in the Mon Calamari System.

“This is Chief Omas speaking.”

“Leia Organa-Solo here.”

“My dear.” he sounded surprise to hear from her. “I’m sorry to ask you this: but how are you still alive?”

“The war is over, Chief. My son and my daughter-in-law killed Snoke, and the Knights of Ren have killed captain Phasma and delivered Armitage Hux to us as a sign of peace. That's the reason I’m calling you: I have no use for Hux, he is our war prisoner right now but I’d like to give him to you. Also, the stormtroopers need help, they were taken from their families when infants, most of them don’t even know their real names. The Resistance doesn’t have the power to help them all. Can we take Hux and the troopers to you?”

“Yes. Of course.” he sounded astonished. “I believe I’ll also have to issue some pardoning for your son and those Knights of Ren. Since they’ve helped bring Snoke and the First Order down.”

“That’s expected, yes.”

“When will you be arriving?”

“In two days.”

“So it’s settled then. I don’t think you need me to say it but: may the Force be with you.”

“Thank you, Chief Omas.”

* * *

**Two days later**

From inside the Millennium Falcon, Mon Cala was a blue planet dotted here and there with brown spots – those were islands where some of their cities sat. Ben, Sara, Poe Dameron, Chewbacca and Han Solo were the only ones on board accompanying Leia to her meeting with Cal Omas. The four Knights of Ren were in charge of guiding the First Order fleet, carrying onboard all the stormtroopers and some prisoners (those who were against of their surrendering to the Resistance) to Mon Cala too.

Armitage Hux was locked in the tinniest cell available in the Falcon.

Once the Falcon landed, they waited for the four Knights – for they’d be the ones delivering Hux to Cal Omas with Leia. It didn’t take them long to land (what used to be Snoke’s personal transport ship) right beside the Falcon.

They took Hux from his cell and Leia guided them all towards a tall tower-like building where the Republic government had moved into after the destruction of Hosnian Prime. Sara and Ben walked beside Leia, ready to protect her if anything looked suspicious. They reached the entrance to the main room and stopped by the huge closed door. Leia walked to knock on the door when it was opened and Cal Omas walked out, a soft smile on his face.

“Welcome to the Republic's new home.” he hugged Leia and his eyes fell on Sara. “It gives my heart great pleasure to see a Jedi again after so many years.”

“Chief Omas is a great believer in the participation of Jedi in the politics.” explained Leia.

“As keepers of peace and justice I think it’s more than appropriate to have them working along, and advising, the Senators.”

Sara just smiled, not really interested in hearing about that, she wasn’t there looking for a job.

Leia looked inside the room, it was full. “It seems you’re in the middle of a meeting, Chief Omas.”

“I contacted all the systems and told them the great news right after you called me. They all came to witness the arrest of Armitage Hux. And see with their own eyes that the war has truly ended and that we, the Republic, helped the Resistance achieve this great feat.”

Sara arched her eyebrow, itching to tell him that if weren't for her powers of persuasion (for lack of a better name) they wouldn’t have helped them at all. But she held her tongue.

Cal Omas motioned them into the big, packed, room and they walked in; silence grew inside the room with every step they took forward. Then, they stopped in the center of it, eyes staring down at them from all sides of the circular space.

“Here is the proof of what I told you, my friends.” began Cal Omas. “The last princess of my home-planet, Leia Organa, is true to her word. She, with the help of the Knights of Ren, brings us the patricide Armitage Hux.”

“It’s up to you now to decide what will become of him.” spoke Leia. “Also, orbiting this planet there are over twenty First Order’s ships filled with stormtroopers who were taken from their families as infants, to serve Snoke’s purpose, and need help now to get back on their feet.”

“We also have some prisoners inside the First Order’s ships.” said Jon. “They will need to stand trial as well.”

“And how about you?” asked Senator Wartol. “You, the Knights of Ren, are widely known by the terrible things you’ve done.” and many Senators started to talk at the same time, in agreement to his words.

“They have already been pardoned by me.” said Cal Omas loudly. “Also, Ben Solo, Leia’s son, helped the Jedi...” he paused for he hadn’t asked her name; so Leia whispered it to him and he continued: “...Sara Antilles kill Snoke. And the Knights were the ones who unified the stormtroopers, killed captain Phasma and subjugated Armitage Hux. Therefore, here is the document that officializes that pardon.” then he gave a roll of paper to Leia.

The Senators quieted down.

Leia turned to the Chief and said: “We’ll leave now. We brought you the prisoner, we have the signed papers with the pardoning of the Knights and Ben; our job is done here.” and she turned and walked to the door, the others following her.

“Wait.” spoke Senator Fonti. “Some of us...” she paused and rephrased: “Most of us owe you an apology, Leia Organa.” many affirmative murmurs were heard. “We doubted you, we mocked you and we forced you to leave your political career. Now we must all apologize, for you were right all along.”

Leia looked at her; she knew how hard it was for the Gossam Senator to say those words.

“I appreciate the gesture.” it was all she said, resuming her walk to the door.

“Wait another minute, please.” asked Cal Omas this time. “We have a job to offer you.”

Leia looked at him inquisitively and said: “I’m not looking for a job, Chief, I just want to go home, enjoy the rest of my life with my family and..."

“And I won’t stop you after you hear my offer.” he interrupted her. “We’ve been talking a lot since yesterday and we came to a unanimous decision: we’d like to ask you, Leia Organa-Solo, to become our Head of the Council of Intergalactic Peace.”

“As I’ve just said: I’m not interested in a job here. I want to go home. I’ll not stay here...”

“You won't have to.” interrupted Chief Omas once more. “You’ll be able to work from any planet you decide. You'll be the one assembling this Council, you’ll control it and you’ll only need to tell us if any threats are resurging in the galaxy.”

“Like I did years ago when I saw the First Order invade some mining systems and you did nothing?” she bitterly replied.

All the Senators went silent and Omas looked slightly embarrassed.

“Yes. We admit that we should have listened to you. That's why we ask you to put this Council together now and help us ensure a peaceful future for the galaxy.  We'll promptly believe you next time.”

Leia looked at her husband and then at her son.

“We all know you want this.” said Han. “Just accept it and let’s get out of here.”

They all chuckled and Leia finally said: “I’ll accept it.”

“We’ll send you the paperwork.” said Omas. “May the force be with you in your journey home.”

“Thank you.” she replied.

And they left the room, going to the Falcon and setting course to Chandrila.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I’d put kids in the story. I always do. Sorry if you’re against it. Next chapter is the last one and more smut is coming. 
> 
> Aurin Leith was a Human female doctor who served as a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. Born on Coruscant, Aurin attended the Byblos Academy of Medicine on the planet Byblos, ultimately graduating and becoming a doctor. She eventually joined the Rebel Alliance and became a hospital shipmedic. (Legends) 
> 
> Cal Omas is Legends too.  


	9. The Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I use the word ‘solemniser’ in this chapter because ‘minister’ sounds too religious to me. Hope you enjoy it! 

 

**Chandrila**

A week had quickly gone by since the day they arrived in Chandrila and were received as war heroes – even Ben and the Knights. True to her promise, Leia began the preparations for Ben and Sara’s wedding the day after they had landed; the couple had asked her for something small and discreet, but Leia was having none of it – and neither was the media. It was the wedding of the Prince of Alderaan with the Jedi who had killed Snoke. On top of having a big party (instead of a small one) and being harassed by the media, Sara also had to be away from her husband 48 hours before the wedding – according to Leia’s Alderaanian tradition the husband and wife-to-be should stay away from each other for two days before the wedding.

“That’s a stupid tradition!” argued Ben. “The reason of that tradition is pointless in our case, mother. She’s pregnant! It makes no sense to force us apart for 48 hours!”

“Traditions are all that we have left from Alderaan!” pointed Leia harshly. “So, they will be respected!”

Then, Sara was taken to the best (and most expensive) hotel in Hanna City: The Silver Sea, 48 hours before the wedding ceremony.

 

* * *

 

**At the Silver Sea Hotel**

It was the night before the wedding (scheduled for the next day, at 4 p.m) and that entire day had been one of the strangest days of Sara’s life; she had been pampered from the moment she’d arrived in the hotel – lots of massages, delicious meals and bubble baths at her disposal. Leia had told her to enjoy and relax, but Sara found it extremely difficult to simply relax – she was an orphan raised by a ghost, who trained her to become a Jedi, and just two weeks ago she was hunting animals on a planet in the Outer Rim fearing that Snoke would arrive and kill them all. 

Hanna was a busy city, but the sounds of downtown nightlife didn’t reach Sara’s room (on the top floor of the hotel), so she had peace and quiet to meditate and sleep. And meditate she did; that was the only way to escape all the craziness that had become her life since they’d landed on Chandrila. She sat in the middle of her comfortable king-size bed and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts take her away from the hotel room and into the peacefulness of a clear mind; with her legs crossed, floating above the mattress, she looked for that little Force-signature that amazed her every time she felt it. “There you are,” she murmured with a smile once she found it: her and Ben’s son’s Force-energy. Their little Anakin Solo. She always sent him positive thoughts, assuring him that everything was fine and that he was much loved. She enjoyed her son for a while and then slowly sat back on the bed, opening her eyes. She touched her still flat belly and kept on smiling happily.

But sudden knocks on the door brought her back from the sweet moment with her son; she jumped onto the floor and summoned her lightsaber from its place on the nightstand. She ignited it and walked to the door. It was late and she wasn’t supposed to receive any unannounced guests.

“Who’s there?” she asked.

“Room service?” replied a male voice.

Sara turned off her lightsaber and opened the door, smiling when her eyes met his.

“How did you get in here?” she asked her husband-to-be.

Ben quickly walked inside the room and closed the door, then he stared at her: lightsaber in hand, hair cascading down her shoulders, dressed in nothing more than a white laced, nearly transparent, nightgown that left very little to the imagination. He took her into his arms, her lightsaber falling to the floor as her arms wrapped around his neck and they shared a heated kiss.

“I had planned to climb all the way up here.” he answered, his lips still touching hers. “But I found an open window on the fourth floor, so I sneaked in and took the elevator.” he bit her bottom lip lightly.

Sara laughed.

“You’re crazy! This is the twenty-fifth floor! You could’ve fallen all the way down and I’d become a widow on the day before my wedding!”

“I didn’t want to sleepwalk again tonight. It makes no sense! We're on the same planet, about to get married tomorrow, with a baby on the way, and my mother insists on this stupid 48-hour tradition! I wanted to feel you...” he ran his hands down her body, feeling all of her curves, grabbing her ass with both hands, pulling her close to his body. “Especially in this nightgown... you look delicious.”

“I’m so glad you’re here.” she murmured, her tongue caressing his lips, teasing him. “This pregnancy hormones are driving me crazy, Ben. I need you.”

He growled and took her mouth, one hand grabbing her hair, controlling her, pulling her head backwards firmly. He broke the kiss, taking her bottom lip between his teeth, biting on it hard, drawing blood.

“I love you, pet.” he spoke, licking her lip, tasting her sweet blood. He trailed kisses down her exposed neck, noticing something was different. “Why is your skin so soft tonight?”

Sara chuckled and explained: “Lots of oils and massages...”

“I like it.” then he bit where her neck met her shoulder, making her gasp in pleasure.

Sara's hands worked on getting his shirt off – which he let her. And next, she tried to pull his pants down – but he stopped her.

“No. First I'll eat you up, make you cum hard for me; I want to hear you begging me to fuck you.”

Sara whimpered, she loved to hear him say what he’d planned to do to her.

“It won't take me long to start begging, Ben.” she touched his already hard dick through the fabric of his pants. “I’m already so wet...” then she stared into his eyes as she guided his right hand between her legs, letting him feel her soaked knickers. 

“Now I want to taste you even more.” he growled, taking the nightgown off of her body, throwing it onto the floor. The bra she wore barely held her full breasts. He took her lips again and made her walk backwards until her legs hit the bed and she fell on top of it. He quickly put himself over her, between her legs, touching her thighs, feeling her wet center with his fingers again before going up to her breasts. He ripped her bra in two, getting access to her breasts, licking each nipple lightly.

“No. Harder! You know what I like.” she moaned in frustration.

Then he bit her nipple, as hard as she liked, hearing her moans of pleasure, feeling her legs close around his waist, her hips moving upwards, trying to rub against something – so he put one thigh between her legs, letting her rub herself against it. The moans that left her lips increased and he stopped torturing her nipples and lowered his mouth, without any warning, to her pussy, pulling her small knickers to the side and delving his tongue into her. Sara let out a strangled gasp, her hand going to his hair – but with one move of his right hand she had both her arms Force-locked over her head. Then he plunged his middle finger inside her pussy and licked up to her clit, slowly, looking up at her face: skin blushed from pleasure, her lips parted, moaning, her chest rising and falling with harsh pants, making her breasts sway. He closed his eyes, taking his finger from her channel, replacing it with his tongue, he worked on lowering his pants with on hand, freeing his dick. Without letting her realize what he was about to do, Ben quickly put himself over her and thrust into her hard and deep. Sara arched her back, nearly screaming in pleasure; he pounded into her twice before she let a deep-throated moan as her orgasm ripped through her, making her inner muscles tighten around him. Ben saw the beautiful chandelier shake over the bed, the whole room slightly shaking as she came apart under him. He bottomed out in her and stayed there as she shivered. He let her hands go from the Force-lock and entwined his fingers with hers, kissing her lips. Sara rotated her hips, feeling him so deep inside of her, all his weight on top of her, his dick filling her up fully. Then he pulled out half way before thrusting back into her; he let her lips go and suckled on one nipple, eliciting more moans from her. He started to feel his own climax too close, too strong for him to stop it, so he put her knees over his shoulders, her ass rising from the bed, and he buried himself even deeper inside of her, his hard dick finding all the right spots to take her over the edge again quickly. 

“Cum again on my cock.” he growled as his whole body focused on riding her like a beast.

And Sara obeyed, her hands touching his sweaty chest and neck, trying to find somewhere to hold on to as she cried out and her whole body shook from pleasure.

She spasmed around his dick, squeezing him tightly, making it impossible for him not to cum, so he slammed inside of her repeatedly and came with a guttural moan. The room shook again as their energies combined. The two lovers kissed and touched each other’s bodies, covered in sweat, his dick still inside of her body. He took her legs from his shoulders, thinking they would fall on the bed, but, instead, Sara wrapped them around his waist, rubbing them on his sides, pulling him more on top of her. 

“I want to ride you.” she whispered between kisses.

Ben rolled them over and just watched as that beautiful, powerful, woman rode his dick with abandon. He moved his hips upwards, meeting her movement for movement, and watched as her right hand descended onto her clit, massaging it as she sat on him. He grabbed her waist with one hand and played with her nipples with the other, pinching them as she liked. And it didn’t take long for her to arch her back and clench around his dick again. He didn’t wait for her climax to subside, he turned them over and pounded into her, painting her channel with his cum again.

He rolled them on the bed, pulling Sara to his chest and they fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Insistent knocking on the door woke the couple up the next morning.

“Ms. Antiles, it’s time for your breakfast.” a female voice called from the other side of the door. “You don’t want to be late for all the preparations we have scheduled before the wedding ceremony.”

Ben opened up his eyes and it took him a while to recognize where they were. Then he started to laugh.

“Morning...” Sara mumbled against his chest. “Why you laughing?”

“You seem to be late for breakfast.”

Then Sara heard the knocking on the door and jumped from the bed.

“Get dressed and to the balcony.” she put on a robe. “They can’t see you here!”

“Why not?” he got up, still naked, and held her in his arms. “We’ll be married in ten hours.” he kissed her neck, going down between her breasts.

Sara let him kiss her, feeling her body respond to his touches immediately.

“Ms. Antiles. Are you ok, miss?” she heard one of the maids' voice from the other side of the door.

“Stop it, Ben.” she pushed him away. “Get dressed and to the balcony. Now!” she whisper-shouted.

He obeyed.

She opened up the door.

“Sorry, I was sleeping.” she lied.

“No problem, Miss.” said one of the maids, smiling.

The two women walked in and set her breakfast on the table.

“We’ll be back in an hour to take you to your first appointment of the day.” announced one of them. “You’ll take a scented bubble bath and receive a special massage with an aphrodisiac oil before lunch. The oil will penetrate your skin and drive your husband crazy later.” she giggled with the other maid.

“Then, after lunch we’ll begin getting you dressed and ready for the ceremony at four.”

“It all sounds delightful. Thank you, ladies.” said Sara, her mind still on that aphrodisiac oil thing. “I'll be ready in an hour.”

And they left the room.

“Aphrodisiac oil, huh?” said Ben entering the room from the balcony. “Interesting.”

“As if we need it.” she chuckled, sitting down on the chair to start having breakfast. “Will you have breakfast with me?”

“Can’t. My mother will soon realize I’m not home and she’ll be furious.”

“She must have known this was bound to happen. I warned her that making us follow this 48-hour stupid tradition wouldn’t work.”

He kneeled by her chair and kissed her belly. “Love you, son.” he whispered. Then he kissed her coffee-flavored lips before rising and walking to the door, opening it to peek at the corridor. Then he looked at Sara once again: “See you later, pet.” and he left the room towards the elevator.

* * *

Ben didn’t even try to hide that he had been out all night. He walked into his family home through the front door and entered the kitchen. “Good morning!” he greeted his parents, who were already sitting at the table. 

Han chuckled, “It sure looks like it is, son.”

Leia just looked at him furiously, not saying a word.

“I told you no security in the Hotel would be able to keep him away from her.” said Han.

“Security? I saw no one.” said Ben, frowning. “Really. The corridor on her floor was empty.”

“The guards are on the ground floor; they should have stopped you from entering the Hotel.” Leia finally said, her annoyance clear in her voice.

“Oh, that’s why I didn’t see anyone. I climbed till the fourth floor. Then I found an open window and took the elevator.”

Han laughed at that, receiving a disapproving look from his wife.

* * *

**The Wedding**

The clock inside Sara’s room marked 3 p.m., within an hour she’d become Ben’s wife – a thought that filled her with happiness and awe, for she once thought that was a lost dream. She was already ready to leave, her long white strapless wedding dress making her feel precious and beautiful, her hair had been left down but had curls on its tips. All she had to do now was wait. She looked outside from her balcony, it was a beautiful sunny day; the ceremony was taking place in the backyard of Ben’s family home – although Leia’s first plan was to have it at the main wedding house of Hanna City, where she could have over a thousand guests, Sara and Ben made her see that they wouldn’t accept such a big wedding (actually they threatened to elope and marry at Maz’s Castle in Takodana), so Leia changed her plans, shortened her guest-list and decided that their backyard could hold 400 people, and that was enough.

“So, the day has finally come.” a male voice was heard inside the room.

Sara turned around and her eyes found her dear Master Kin standing by the table.

“Yes. I thought this would never happen.” her smile turned sad. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day... when Ben left and you left... I felt so lost, so alone.”

“But not anymore.”

“No.” she smiled happily. “Not anymore.”

“You’ll never be alone again, dear.” he walked close to her. “I can assure you that, from now on, only good things are waiting for you and for your family.” he touched her belly lightly. “He already feels loved, the Light is strong in him.”

Sara felt a tear run down her cheek.

“Thank you for saying that. We fear...”

“No need to fear.” Master Kin interrupted her. “Just be happy.” he kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you at the ceremony.” and he vanished.

Sara heard knocks on the door and dried her eyes before going to open it.

“Hello, my dear.” it was Leia. “I don’t think I need to say it but you look so beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“You were crying?”

“Yes. Happy tears, don’t worry. Master Kin just paid me a visit and his words made me cry.”

“Good.” Leia smiled walking inside the room and closing the door. “Don’t think I’m not upset with you and Ben for disrespecting the tradition...”

“Oh, come on, Leia... you knew it wouldn’t work.”

“Yeah... anyway, it’s time for us to go. But first...” and she took a black box from the handbag she was carrying. “This is one of the royal crowns of Alderaan. All brides must wear something beautiful on their heads, so I brought you this.” and she opened the box, revealing a sparkling crown. “I’d like you to wear it.”

Sara was speechless. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life.

“As I said before: the planet is gone but some tradition can still be respected so that its culture never dies.” continued Leia, walking close to Sara, who bent forward to allow her to put the beautiful crown on her head. “You look like a real princess, my dear.”

“Thank you, Leia, for trusting me.”

“No, dear, I thank you for loving my son.”

And the two women shared a hug before leaving the hotel room and going to the wedding ceremony.

 

* * *

 

Ben stood in the altar by the solemniser, staring at the backyard of his family home; it had always been beautiful, but that day it had been perfectly decorated to host the wedding. On the other side of the solemniser, Ben could see his father staring at the guests that arrived and sat at the chairs put around the altar, his eyes soft and a soft smile on his face. They could see that Cal Omas and many Senators had come, and some members of the Resistance were there too; old and new friends together to celebrate with them. Han’s eyes found Ben’s and his smile got bigger as he approached his son.

“You’re looking exactly what your mother wish you were.” said Han.

“What?”

“The heir to the throne.”

“Maybe I should be glad Tarkin exploded Alderaan, then.”

Han chuckled. “Don’t let your mother, nor anyone, hear you say that.” he looked at his son. “You look great, Ben; happy.”

“I am happy.”

“Good, that’s all I ever wanted for you.” they fell silent for a while, then Han said: “You know what’s funny? Had the planet not exploded and Sara’s parents not been killed, this could still have happened. A marriage between the son of the Royal House of Alderaan and the daughter of a traditional family like the Antiles would be greatly appreciated, maybe even arranged.”

“So you think this would happen, that Sara and I would marry, no matter the circumstances.” Ben said. “I agree with you. If instead of the Temple I had met her at school or at royal parties, she’d still annoy me and enchant me just the same.”

“Here comes your mother.” announced Han.

Leia was walking towards the altar, greeting all the guests on her way, thanking them for being there. When she finally got to the altar she smiled at her son: “She’s coming, Ben. And you look... amazing. A real Prince.” she had tears in her eyes. “Oh, Lord, the ceremony hasn’t even started and I’m already crying.”

“Told you.” mouthed Han to his son.

But Ben was already focused on the end of the long red carpet that extended from the altar to the backdoor of the house. The door had been opened and there stood Sara; no words could describe how gorgeous she looked, the beautiful white dress contrasting with her long brown hair, the barely-there make up making the eyes seem bluer than the sky above, and on her head she wore a crown he immediately recognized. He looked at his mother and her eyes met his, understanding his question, she just nodded. His eyes fell on Sara again, who walked towards the altar amongst a crowd of guests that had fell silent at the sight of her.

* * *

 

Sara felt uncomfortably self-conscious as all the guests looked at her in silence. She quickly recognized an energy she hadn’t felt in years.  _Master Luke._  He was there! She looked around trying to locate him and found him on the far left, standing and looking at her with a smile. She smiled at him and looked forward again, her eyes finding Ben. He looked like a king, dressed in a dark blue form-fitting long sleeved vest with pins on the left indicating he was from a noble family. She felt her heart jump the moment his eyes met hers. 

 _You look like a_ _goddess_ _, pet._  She heard his voice in her head.

 _And you look so powerful, so commanding... I think we’ll need to cut this party short and go test the aphrodisiac oil I have on my skin._  She replied, her hands itching with desire to touch him.

He softly chuckled and didn’t reply.

Sara reached the altar and Ben offered her his arm, which she took and they stared at the solemniser.

“We gather here in the beautiful afternoon to join in matrimony this man and this woman. Both war heroes who never lost faith in one another during the worst hours. Together they proved to us that love is bigger than hatred. Ben Solo and Sara Antiles.” the guests clapped and the couple felt embarrassed, thanking the stars they had their backs to the guests.

 _I_ _guess_ _he’s_ _been talking to my mother._  Said Ben in Sara’s mind.

 _No doubt about that._  She replied. _I still think we should have married at Maz’s._

The solemniser continued: “As requested by the couple, we’ll skip the long ceremony and start with their vows and the exchange of rings. I invite the groom to begin.”

Ben and Sara turned to face each other and he began: “Sara, only we know what it took us to be here, standing in front of all these people to finally get married. There was a time when neither of us thought this would ever come true. But here we are. And I vow to always protect you, and our family, to the best of my abilities. No harm will ever come to you or our children.” he picked up the smaller ring from a velvet cushion on the altar and took Sara’s left hand. “This ring is the symbol of my love and devotion.” he slid the ring on her finger and kissed it.

It was her turn now.

“Ben, being here today is really a dream come true. There were moments when I feared, but I never truly doubted you; my trust in you is unbreakable. I’ll always be by your side, no matter the fight; my love for you has been tested and no Force in the Galaxy was ever strong enough to weaken it. You have my love, my loyalty and my trust.” she picked up the larger ring and took his left hand. “This ring is a symbol of my love and devotion.” she slid the ring on his finger.

They turned to face the solemniser again.

“By the power bestowed on me, I now pronounce you: husband and wife.” finished the solemniser. “You may now kiss the bride.”

And Ben turned to look at Sara, putting one hand around her waist, bringing her closer, while the other touched her face, his thumb tracing her pink bottom lip. They stared into each other’s eyes and he touched his lips to hers, kissing her deeply, her hands on his broad shoulders, touching the tips of his hair. Sara trembled in his arms. But before the kiss could get any hotter, Han cleared his throat loudly, making Ben take a step back, ending the kiss. The crowd of guests seemed disappointed with Han’s interruption but soon recovered from the disappointment and clapped as the newly-weds walked down the aisle and into the house.

Ben closed the door behind them and grabbed Sara by the waist, quickly pushing her against the closed door with his own body, taking her lips again. His strong body pinning her against the door.

The oil that had been spread earlier on her skin was starting to work, every part of her he touched felt like on fire, her arms, neck, lips, it was a delicious fire spreading all over her body, and she wanted more.

But knocks on the door made them stop.

“We can’t fuck here.” he gasped, still holding her close.

“But I need you.” she moaned, rubbing herself against his hard body. “That aphrodisiac oil is setting me on fire.” she kissed his neck, going to his ear. “Wouldn’t it be sexy to know I’d be walking around the party, our wedding party, with your cum between my legs?”

Ben groaned and took her in his arms, carrying her upstairs bridal style.

Leia opened the door just in time to see them going upstairs.

* * *

Ben kicked the door of a bedroom, walked inside and put Sara down, closing the door.

“Whose bedroom is this?” she asked.

“Mine.” he removed his long-sleeved vest and the shirt he wore under it.

“So you’ll fuck your wife on your teenager bed?” she teased, eyeing his naked chest with need.

“No. I’ll fuck you against the wall.” and he took her in his arms, pushing her against the wall between two large windows that were – thankfully – shut; then he opened up his pants, freeing his painfully hard dick as he kissed her lips and trailed kissed down her neck.

“No damaging the dress.” she gasped as he bit her neck. “Maybe I should take it off.”

“No!” Ben bent down to raise her dress up to her waist. “I’m fucking you in it, with that crown on your head. You look like a fierce goddess and I wanna make you scream on my dick.”

Sara shivered, feeling her knickers get wet.

He removed that wet piece of cloth from her body and slid his hands behind her thighs, hoisting her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist and he pushed himself into her, hard and deep, making her moan his name as he filled her up completely. He began a fast and steady pace, the oil on her skin starting to affect him too, making him feel his own body was on fire; he looked at her, his wife, so beautiful, so hot and wet for him, moaning at each thrust of his hips, gasping every time he hit that special spot inside of her.

Sara wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their mouths together, their tongues battling one another, as their rapid breaths mingled with the proximity of their climaxes.

“Harder, Ben!” she nearly shouted. “Fuck me!”

And all it took was four deep hard thrusts for him to have her clamping around his length as she came shouting his name. He followed her shortly, emptying his seed deep inside of her clenching pussy.

He slowly put her legs down and kissed her lips.

They were fixing their clothes and hairs when they heard knocks on the door and Luke’s voice: “Be ready to get down there in 10 minutes or your mother is coming after you two.”

“Yes, uncle.” Ben replied, kissing Sara while he fixed the crown on her hair and she buttoned up his vest.

* * *

The couple walked downstairs and into the backyard less than 10 minutes later and greeted the guests, thanking them for coming. They danced for hours, enjoyed a delicious cake and some drinks (non-alcoholic for Sara, of course). After a few hours, Leia looked around the room, trying to find the newly-weds but they were nowhere to be seen. She just smiled to her brother and spoke to the ghost beside them: “The future is promising, isn't it?”

“Yes.” answered Anakin. “Brighter impossible.”

And the backyard party went on as the newly-weds enjoyed their own private party upstairs.

 

* * *

**THE END**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the huge delay! But it was so hard to get this chapter out. Hope you enjoyed it. Leave me a review or PM, your thoughts are always appreciated. 
> 
> Thanks for reading it! 


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